Textile Fragments
Unknown Artist
c. 50–650 CE
Medium
cotton and camelid fiber
Dimensions
40 × 25.4 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2007.2
About this artwork
These fragments are rare survivors of catastrophic rains that destroyed much of the Moche textile legacy and may have helped to bring about the decline of Moche culture. Each depicts a serpent and a snail beneath a hovering raptorial bird—perhaps a snail kite, a type of hawk named after its favored food. The size of the motifs implies that the original textile was large; a mantle (a shawl-like garment) or a hanging are among the possibilities.