Chancay Chuspa or Coca Leaf Bag with Bird-Motif Strap

Brown and cream stripes run straight down, while the edges break out into red and gold.

This chuspa, or coca leaf bag with bird-motif strap, is Chancay, from Peru, and dates to 1000 to 1470 CE. It is wool. The Chancay culture flourished on Peru's central coast between the decline of the Wari and the rise of the Inca, and its dry burial grounds have preserved a great many textiles. The bag is woven in dark brown with vertical stripes of cream, tan and rust. Patterned bands in red, gold and cream run along the top and down the sides, and a narrow strap carries small stylized birds. It is 14.8 inches wide and 8 long.

Practical in purpose, and still unwilling to be plain.