Moche arts and crafts were imaginative and show a high standard of skill. Painted and modelled pottery and murals illustrate nearly every aspect of their world - plants, demons, gods and the everyday activities of Moche life.
They vividly portrayed animals, battles, ceremonies, executions, houses, boats and craft activities, as in the scene illustrated here. From these scenes we are able to reconstruct much of Moche daily life and public activities.
Rulers depicted on pots have been matched in every detail by the spectacular finds in their recently discovered graves at Sipan. The exquisite gold, silver and copper objects found here show the technical sophistication and artistic imagination of the Moche.
Although few Mochica textiles survive, it is evident that their sense of artistry was also employed in weaving intricate and colourful patterns into their clothes. Textiles were made from cotton, grown on the coast, and the wool of camelids (llamas, alpacas, vicuÒas and guanaco).
Wool from the vicuÒas was particularly fine and probably reserved for use by the elite. Spanish observations on Inca textiles are probably of relevance also to earlier cultures like the Moche: textiles were highly valued and were a resource in which the elite could accumulate wealth; taxes were in part paid in textiles, and all adult women were expected to spin and weave at home.
Scenes like the one illustrated here imply that the Moche also operated workshops under government control. This was true also of other craft activities such as metalworking, pottery-making and working shell.
