The Parker & Neal Mola Collection - Part 1
Lot 161:
Description
Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s
14.5 × 16 inches (each panel)
Exuberantly worked reverse appliqué, appliqué, and embroidery mola blouse, offered complete and intact in its original wearable form. Both front and back panels present closely related compositions centering on a large spirit face rendered in a rounded frame with embroidered white cutwork eyes, a columnar nose, and a wide toothed mouth detailed with dense u-form embroidery stitching throughout. The face is flanked above by four-petaled flower appliqués and below by two large symmetrical gourd or vessel forms, each enclosing a T-shaped or cross-form botanical element rising above clusters of seed-pod roundels filled with multicolored oval cutwork. Small leaf and sprig appliqués with embroidered vein detail scatter throughout the surrounding field. The back panel presents an equivalent composition with similar face and gourd motifs. Dense polychrome dash-and-stripe embroidery fills all negative space. The yoke and gathered sleeves are constructed from blue cotton corduroy; white rick-rack trim and multicolored bands separate the yoke from the mola panel, with a lime green band finishing the lower hem. Executed in three layers of black, red, and orange cotton, with extensive polychrome embroidered accents in yellow, orange, green, blue, pink, purple, and white.
Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection
Condition report:
Minor wear and fading consistent with age. In house Flat Rate US Shipping of $15 for 1 -10 molas, $5 each additional 10 molas. Insurance is additional and required.
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