Two Textile Fragment with Fanged Heads
Unknown Artist
500–200 BCE
Medium
cotton: plain weave patterned by fiber-wrapped warps and supplementary wefts
Dimensions
112 × 61.2 cm · mounted: 123.8 × 72.4 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1985.139
About this artwork
These two rare fragments of equal size and mounted side by side feature fanged heads connected by a fanged mouth band. Each band ascends as a column above a rectangular, disembodied eye that implies the original presence of large figures or heads beneath the bands. Fanged heads are common markers of the supernatural in Chavín art, an early style that developed in the highlands of Peru. The original textile may have served as a ceremonial wall hanging.