Textile

Item number Sf814 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Data
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Description

A cut fragment of a woven patterned band with serrated diagonal rows of birds worked in 5 colours: brown, red, yellow, blue and white. The outside edges are purple and with a red stripe. A few white sewing threads remain along one edge. The structure is a complementary weave with outlining and substitution. Z-spun, 2 plied s yarns, also single s-spun (white).

History Of Use

This type of band occurs as a border on a rectangular Chancay fabric called an altar cloth (Tsunoyama) as well as bordering a south coast cloth of indeterminate function (Rowe). The diagonal arrangement of birds and serrated lines is quite typical of the Late Intermediate Period.

Iconographic Meaning

The serrations probably refer to serpents. Birds and serpents are very frequently associated in textile designs of most periods. The meaning of the composite image may have a special relationship to fabrics as it does not occur so frequently on ceramics.