But that is precisely what the sutta does not say. What it says is:
cakkuñca paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhuviññāṇaṁ
Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights.
There is nothing, here or anywhere else in the suttas, about an “object”.
We should be clear on this. When we use the word “object”, the only thing we can be saying is that it is something that exists “objectively”. That is, whether the eye is there or not, whether consciousness perceives it or not, it remains just the same.
If that’s not what we’re saying, why are we using the word “object”? Even if it’s not what we mean to say, it’s there in the connotations and assumptions that the word brings.
The suttas carefully and consistently avoid making this assumption. What matters is the sight as perceived, which only appears in relation to consciousness.