Kuna Geometric Traditional Mola Hand Stitched Applique Art Panel Red Flower 15A
Item History & Price
Huge mola panel:You are buying the intricate detailed applique mola in the first and 3rd photos, a highly collectible & authenticfolk art panel once created by a Kuna Indian. Outstanding vintage hand sewn mola, very delicate work with an outstanding detailed partly geometric motif of flowers in bloom mirror images, all hand made reverse applique and embroideries added as well, with a very traditional background of extreme detail a...nd perfection, collected in the field. Time consuming to createcompletely by hand for this much detailed work. Stunning worksize is 19" X 13 3/4". an oversized mola like this one can take twice as long to create.collected in UstupuIsland, San Blas, Panama. (and item number 15A, Category: plants and flowers) This mola is complete andin great shape with a border all around. We pride ourselves in collecting direct, from village to village of the San Blas Islands, only the most outstanding, detailed, handmade and colorful panels we can find and the most traditional and oldest ones as well which are getting harder and harder to find.Some very demanding molas workwise made by thebest of experts show perfectly rendered backgrounds such as these:1) Labyrinth backgroundinspired by brain coral.2) Tiny triangles lined withdifferent color fabrics.3) Crosses likemultiplication signs.4) Saw teeth lines. Kunas living in remoteislands off the coast of Central America, inspire themselves with what isaround them in the creation of their blouse fabric panels, from the basketsthey use to the brain coral that surrounds their islands, from birds to fishand animals, from daily life and Kuna history & religion which are all depicted on many ablouse. Absolute perfection oflines & symmetry on these vintage molas created with great precision anddetail over a month’s time or more, each with an intense traditional backgroundof very time consuming minute parallel lines or tiny little triangles, orlabyrinth motifs reminiscent of the natural maze of the brain coral thatsurrounds the islands and provide the artists with some of their ideas.
Molas are getting harderand harder to collect in the field and as a result have tripled or x 4 in priceon location, as the tradition is disappearing. We just returned from a trip toPanama and in many San Blas islands' villages, we did not find a single personwearing one or having one for sale. It saddened us a great deal to see such awonderful art not being passed on to the next generation anymore as theknowledge and beauty of creating intense and detailed reverse applique is beinglost with it, but the next generation, as everywhere else, is not interested increating 2 blouse panels that take, each, 1 month or more to complete, and arelooking forward to a more modern future, while wearing western clothing, sincenow many islands have electricity which leads to computers, cell phones andTV’s and to the end of crafting.
It is the first trip i noticed such atremendous decrease in the production and wear of such a wonderful and colorfultraditional attire soon to be a distant memory. I am afraid true not-made-for-tourists molas which are the only kind we collect by choice (unless we haverequests for the other newer types: which are beautiful as well in their ownrespect, when well made that is, but are also not created with reverse appliquelike the traditional ones, and were never worn on a blouse but made for thetourist trade) will soon be all gone.
To this day, we haveprized ourselves in collecting the best we can find: authentic traditionalblouse mola panels, that we remove from the blouses ourselves, purchasing themone by one direct from the islands’ artists and chosing the ones created withthe most detail, the most interesting subjects, the best colors’combinations, whilemaking sure they are handsewn with intense and minute needlework as well, as somany are now mostly made by machine: we insist on handsewn stitche sometimes sosmall they are almost invisible, this is a fabric art that will be a thing ofthe past as well as the authentic molas themselves in a very near future. All our unusual handcrafted or rare items come with pages ofresearch, photos, and authenticity information concerning them. In the case ofthe molas, we will send you 5 lengthy documents with photos referring toeverything you need to know about them, from their history to their spiritualmeanings or messages, the traditions still embraced thru them, and thedifficult task of creating them. All our collector and rareitems come with pages and pages of research about provenance, and with historyof the tribes and photos as well, depending on item and whenever possible. Whenshipping internationally, we group ship multiple purchases to save you money, andfind the best rates available. If you want to see research conducted on this piece and photos of tribes, let us know. we are showing you a few ways to use them in your decor as pillows orframed in a lot of our ads Additionalphotos placed here also show a variety of photos from our trips such as myhusband distributing goods to the Indian community, village scenes, a molabeing started, a Kuna woman wearing one, as the molas are part of the CunaIndian traditional blouse and there is a panel in front and back per blouse.Panelscan take months to create and are the pride of the maker and owner-wearer. Wesearch for and buy only the best of everything we carry, straight from thepeople and artists who created such masterpieces of reverse applique orapplique and embroideries, over a period of months, in the remote islands offthe coast of Panama. TheKuna live in very remote communities and their inspiration comes mostly fromthe wild life and nature around them.Thisunique Textile Art piece was once the frontal decoration adorning a Cuna womanBlouse. It isa wonderful museum quality authentic vintage collector mola with the intensetraditional detail typical to the old ones. Weonly collect the finest authentic vintage molas in perfect condition, I pickthem one at a time in the villages, direct from the Cuna Indians in the SanBlas islands. I only handpick molas (that have been on blouses) with the mostperfect artistic designs and imagination and I remove the molas from theblouses myself afterwards. I select these works of intricate reverse appliqueart according to the most originality& beauty of design and pattern, withthe best color combinations, the tightest and most minute even stitching, andperfection, & eveness of lines especially in the case of the detailedgeometrical mazes of the traditional molas.TheMolas are world known for their minute hand sewn very close together stitches, so tiny on some that you can hardly see them. A Mola takes a long time tocreate because of its intricacy. Some molas also have additional embroiderieson top of the intricate reverse applique work. One cannot but admire theintense detail of the motifs and the richness of colors and embroideries ofthis unique disappearing art. If you want to see some ofour framed molas, framed in unique signed hand painted frames matching eachmola, or the fun pillows we make with them, each unique as well, we can sendyou pictures to give you ideas on how to display and use them in your home uponrequest, in the case of the ones that are not already for sale here.
Molas are getting harderand harder to collect in the field and as a result have tripled or x 4 in priceon location, as the tradition is disappearing. We just returned from a trip toPanama and in many San Blas islands' villages, we did not find a single personwearing one or having one for sale. It saddened us a great deal to see such awonderful art not being passed on to the next generation anymore as theknowledge and beauty of creating intense and detailed reverse applique is beinglost with it, but the next generation, as everywhere else, is not interested increating 2 blouse panels that take, each, 1 month or more to complete, and arelooking forward to a more modern future, while wearing western clothing, sincenow many islands have electricity which leads to computers, cell phones andTV’s and to the end of crafting.
It is the first trip i noticed such atremendous decrease in the production and wear of such a wonderful and colorfultraditional attire soon to be a distant memory. I am afraid true not-made-for-tourists molas which are the only kind we collect by choice (unless we haverequests for the other newer types: which are beautiful as well in their ownrespect, when well made that is, but are also not created with reverse appliquelike the traditional ones, and were never worn on a blouse but made for thetourist trade) will soon be all gone.
To this day, we haveprized ourselves in collecting the best we can find: authentic traditionalblouse mola panels, that we remove from the blouses ourselves, purchasing themone by one direct from the islands’ artists and chosing the ones created withthe most detail, the most interesting subjects, the best colors’combinations, whilemaking sure they are handsewn with intense and minute needlework as well, as somany are now mostly made by machine: we insist on handsewn stitche sometimes sosmall they are almost invisible, this is a fabric art that will be a thing ofthe past as well as the authentic molas themselves in a very near future. All our unusual handcrafted or rare items come with pages ofresearch, photos, and authenticity information concerning them. In the case ofthe molas, we will send you 5 lengthy documents with photos referring toeverything you need to know about them, from their history to their spiritualmeanings or messages, the traditions still embraced thru them, and thedifficult task of creating them. All our collector and rareitems come with pages and pages of research about provenance, and with historyof the tribes and photos as well, depending on item and whenever possible. Whenshipping internationally, we group ship multiple purchases to save you money, andfind the best rates available. If you want to see research conducted on this piece and photos of tribes, let us know. we are showing you a few ways to use them in your decor as pillows orframed in a lot of our ads Additionalphotos placed here also show a variety of photos from our trips such as myhusband distributing goods to the Indian community, village scenes, a molabeing started, a Kuna woman wearing one, as the molas are part of the CunaIndian traditional blouse and there is a panel in front and back per blouse.Panelscan take months to create and are the pride of the maker and owner-wearer. Wesearch for and buy only the best of everything we carry, straight from thepeople and artists who created such masterpieces of reverse applique orapplique and embroideries, over a period of months, in the remote islands offthe coast of Panama. TheKuna live in very remote communities and their inspiration comes mostly fromthe wild life and nature around them.Thisunique Textile Art piece was once the frontal decoration adorning a Cuna womanBlouse. It isa wonderful museum quality authentic vintage collector mola with the intensetraditional detail typical to the old ones. Weonly collect the finest authentic vintage molas in perfect condition, I pickthem one at a time in the villages, direct from the Cuna Indians in the SanBlas islands. I only handpick molas (that have been on blouses) with the mostperfect artistic designs and imagination and I remove the molas from theblouses myself afterwards. I select these works of intricate reverse appliqueart according to the most originality& beauty of design and pattern, withthe best color combinations, the tightest and most minute even stitching, andperfection, & eveness of lines especially in the case of the detailedgeometrical mazes of the traditional molas.TheMolas are world known for their minute hand sewn very close together stitches, so tiny on some that you can hardly see them. A Mola takes a long time tocreate because of its intricacy. Some molas also have additional embroiderieson top of the intricate reverse applique work. One cannot but admire theintense detail of the motifs and the richness of colors and embroideries ofthis unique disappearing art. If you want to see some ofour framed molas, framed in unique signed hand painted frames matching eachmola, or the fun pillows we make with them, each unique as well, we can sendyou pictures to give you ideas on how to display and use them in your home uponrequest, in the case of the ones that are not already for sale here.
