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Tunic with Double-headed Serpents

400-200 BC

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

Gauze weave was used to pattern this lovely, subtle 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 the material from which the tunic is made—cotton, which does not readily take dyes.

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  • Title: Tunic with Double-headed Serpents
  • Date Created: 400-200 BC
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 136.5 x 65.4 cm (53 3/4 x 25 3/4 in.)
  • Type: Textile
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2005.17
  • Medium: cotton; gauze
  • Department: Textiles
  • Culture: Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Ocucaje site?, Paracas people (700 BC - AD 1)
  • Credit Line: Dudley P. Allen Fund
  • Collection: T - Pre-Columbian
  • Accession Number: 2005.17
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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