Cleveland Museum of Art

Tunic with Double-headed Serpents

Date

400–200 BCE

Medium

cotton; gauze

Culture

Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Ocucaje site?, Paracas people (700 BCE-1 CE)

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Gauze weave was used to pattern this tunic with interlocking, double-headed serpents that may have had mythical or supernatural significance. By manipulating the density of the fabric to create the design, the weaver may have sidestepped a limitation of cotton, which did not readily take dyes.

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