Chancay Weaving Basket with Weaving Implements

Chancay Culture, Late Intermediate Period, c. 1000–1470 AD, Central Coast, Peru

An exceptional and exceedingly rare ancient weaving kit, comprising a traditional hand-woven Chancay basket fashioned from tightly plaited totora reeds over a framework of split cane. This rectangular basket—remarkably well-preserved—still contains its original weaving implements, offering an extraordinary glimpse into the daily life and craft traditions of a master weaver over 600 years ago.

Inside are numerous spindles, four of which are broken, many still wound with ancient textile thread in natural and dyed hues. Several spindles retain painted and intricately incised ceramic whorls or small clay balls, likely used as weights or decoration. Accompanying the spindles are small balls of spun thread, a wooden batten or beater stick, a wad of raw cotton, and botanical fragments—perhaps used for dyes or ceremonial purposes. Each component is authentic, ancient, and was originally discovered within the basket as a complete set.

The Chancay culture, known for its refined textile artistry, produced some of the most sophisticated weavings of the pre-Columbian Andes, often incorporating bold geometric motifs, stylized animals, and anthropomorphic figures. Their textiles served not only practical functions but also communicated social rank, cosmological beliefs, and funerary symbolism. Textiles were vital offerings in Chancay burials, layered and wrapped with reverence to ensure safe passage into the afterlife.

This basket and its contents provide a tangible, profoundly human link to one of ancient Peru’s most gifted weaving traditions—a museum-quality ensemble both rare and deeply evocative.

Excellent condition. Intact. Minor structural damages. Light surface wear with some minor fray to edges commensurate with age and use. Size approx. 34,0cm x 14,5cm x 7,6cm.

Provenance: Dutch private collection. Acquired abroad and brought to Netherlands in the 1960s.

For a similar examples see: 

Weaving Basket, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession Number: 1979.206.950.1-.71 (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/313148)

Work Basket with Weaving Tools, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Accession Number: 82.0003 (https://emuseum1.as.miami.edu/objects/11497/work-basket-with-weaving-tools)

Spinning and weaving basket and tools, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Accession Number: MH 2013.20.2a-n (https://artmuseum.mtholyoke.edu/object/spinning-and-weaving-basket-and-tools)

References and further reading:

Tools for Eternity: Pre-Columbian workbaskets as textile production toolkits and grave offerings, Karen Price & Catherine Higgitt & Thibaut Devièse & Colin McEwan & Bill Sillar, 2015