The Parker & Neal Mola Collection - Part 1
Lot 265:
Description
Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s
15 × 18 inches
Reverse appliqué mola panel of characteristic Guna wit, depicting two large confronting pelicans — each wearing a conspicuous pair of eyeglasses rendered with deadpan conviction — their distinctive round heads densely filled with multicolored dot embroidery, long bills extended and each clutching a fish. The left pelican wears blue-framed glasses with white-ringed eyes; the right wears orange frames with equal composure. Both figures are outlined in yellow against the black ground, their barrel-shaped bodies incorporating large lobed tropical foliage forms — monstera-like leaves worked in dark and lavender tones — that merge organically with the birds’ silhouettes. The fish held in each bill are rendered in pink with embroidered bar markings and individual eyes, their bodies articulated with fine interior stitching. Between the two pelican heads at upper center, a small pink figure and pinwheel form occupy the median axis. Six eight-petaled star flowers are distributed across the field in green, pink, purple, and yellow, each with a ringed center and individually embroidered petals. Multicolored bar-and-dash embroidery animates the surrounding red ground throughout. The pairing of spectacles with pelicans — dignified, self-important birds given the further gravity of corrective eyewear — is a perfectly calibrated example of the Guna tradition of investing animal subjects with human attributes for comic effect. Executed in three layers of red, black, and orange cotton, with extensive supplemental appliqué and hand embroidery throughout.
Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection.
Condition report:
Minor wear 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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