Cats and Fishes: Chancay Open Weave Darning (Peru)

A piece of Chancay open weave darning (c. 900 to 1430 AD). A piece of Chancay open weave darning (c. 900 to 1430 AD). Copyright Trustees of the British Museum, London, acc. no. Am1907,0319.95.

In the British Museum collection there is a fragment of Chancay open weave darning. The cloth is believed to come from the Chancay culture in Peru and dates from sometime between 900 – 1430 AD. It derives from burial excavations in the Pacasmayo Valley carried out in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The design on this textile consists of alternating, diagonal rows of feline and fish motifs.

The textile was collected by Dr. de Bolivar and purchased by the British Museum from Mme Anna de Bolivar in 1907. Other examples of this type of embroidery in the British Museum include a fragment with the acc. no. Am1971,02.23.

British Museum online catalogue (retrieved 18th July 2016).

GVE

Last modified on Sunday, 18 June 2017 11:22