The Parker & Neal Mola Collection - Part 1
Lot 158:
Description
Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s
15.75 × 19.25 inches (each panel)
Spectacular reverse appliqué, appliqué, and embroidery mola blouse, offered complete and intact in its original wearable form. The front panel presents a large circular mandala of exceptional technical ambition, its concentric rings rendered with dense sawtooth-edged channels radiating outward from a central rectangular medallion containing vertical bar accents, the rings framed by a boldly outlined six-pointed star form. Corner elements of triangular and stepped devices complete the field. The back panel features a closely related six-pointed star composition centered on a stylized spirit animal figure in teal green with embroidered eye and body striping, surrounded by the same radiating triangular and star-form framework. Scattered four-pointed star appliqués with embroidered fill punctuate both compositions throughout. The upper blouse and gathered puffed sleeves are constructed from a bright lime green commercially printed cotton fabric with wheel and geometric motifs; multiple rows of orange, yellow, and black rick-rack trim separate the yoke from the mola panels. Executed in four layers of burgundy, orange, black, and yellow cotton, with extensive polychrome embroidered accents in yellow, magenta, teal, blue, green, and white.
Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection
Condition report:
Minor wear and fading consistent with age. Side seams unsewn. 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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