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Source Description
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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
152258
label
Two Textile Fragment with Fanged Heads
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
152258
contentType
object
title
Two Textile Fragment with Fanged Heads
description
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.
date
500–200 BCE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79936412
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 112 x 61.2 cm (44 1/8 x 24 1/8 in.); Mounted: 123.8 x 72.4 cm (48 3/4 x 28 1/2 in.)
cul
Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Chavín style
accession
1985.139
Source extras
tec
cotton: plain weave patterned by fiber-wrapped warps and supplementary wefts
tombstone
Two Textile Fragment with Fanged Heads, 500–200 BCE. Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Chavín style. Cotton: plain weave patterned by fiber-wrapped warps and supplementary wefts; overall: 112 x 61.2 cm (44 1/8 x 24 1/8 in.); mounted: 123.8 x 72.4 cm (48 3/4 x 28 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1985.139
collection
T - Pre-Columbian
didYouKnow
Fanged heads are common markers of the supernatural in Chavín art.
citations
citation
Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1985.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 73, no. 2 (February 1986): 26–71.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 69, no. 168; Reproduced: p. 36
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 6
citation
Fux, Peter, and Walter Alva. <em>Chavín: Peru's Enigmatic Temple in the Andes</em>. Zurich: Scheidegger & Spiess: Museum Rietberg, 2013.
page_number
pp. 276–277, Cat. No. 54
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:52:03.446000
sourceId
152258
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Pre-Columbian
med
cotton: plain weave patterned by fiber-wrapped warps and supplementary wefts
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
cdb53853a673440e