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CA0957 · ordinary life
Creator/community: Moche weaver or weavers Place/era: North Coast of Peru;650–850CE
Generated interpretation
An invented unfinished woven sample with exposed warp ends. Credit: AI-generated for Culture Ark using OpenAI image generation. Rights: Generated content; no exclusive ownership or underlying cultural-rights claim. Changes: Resized within1400px and converted to WebP; no crop or substantive alteration.
Loose threads and incomplete work legible; no sacred figure or reconstructed original bag. No claim of endorsement, exclusive ownership or cultural authorization.
Documented reference / existing artwork
Chuspa (coca bag). 650-850 CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994.35.88. Mounted folded view; only one face is visible. Catalog research identifies the intended bag as unfinished. Credit: Moche artist(s) / The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bequest of Arthur M. Bullowa, 1993. Rights: Public domain; Met Open Access. Changes: Resized within1400px and converted to WebP; no crop or substantive alteration. Image source Image licence
Met API explicitly marks isPublicDomain=true. Image reuse permission does not transfer ownership of the object or resolve cultural permissions, sacred significance, provenance or restitution questions. Retain the catalog context.
History and context
This brightly coloured camelid-fibre textile was intended to become a chuspa, a bag for carrying coca leaves, but the Met's research identifies it as unfinished. Its two-part composition would have placed a bird-associated figure on each side when folded. The imagery combines elements linked with Moche status and ritual with features the curator connects to wider Andean influences. The object records not only intended use but an interrupted process of making. Its precise findspot is not certain; a proposed connection with San José de Moro rests on stylistic comparison. An unfinished object can preserve decisions that a completed bag might conceal.
What future readers can learn
Curatorial interpretation: Ordinary carrying forms can intersect with ritual and status, while unfinished work preserves otherwise hidden stages of intention.
Limits and cultural context
This is an elaborate intended luxury object, not representative of all coca bags. Proposed iconographic identifications and findspot remain interpretations; no consumption or health advice is offered.
Where to learn more
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