The Parker & Neal Mola Collection - Part 1
Lot 38:
Description
Panama (Guna Yala), Circa 1960s
15.5 x 20 inches
Densely worked reverse appliqué mola panel depicting the iconic RCA Victor “His Master’s Voice” advertising image, executed in three layers of red, black, and blue cotton with extensive appliqué and embroidery in contrasting colors throughout. The composition centers on a large stylized dog, rendered in the pose of the famous Nipper, seated with head tilted attentively toward an oversized gramophone horn at upper right. The dog’s body is worked in dark cotton outlined in yellow and blue, with the interior filled with multicolored slit work in yellow, pink, green, and teal. Its face is carefully detailed with an embroidered eye, open mouth with green stitching, and a collar rendered in yellow and green running stitch. The gramophone horn extends boldly across the upper right, its flared bell filled with horizontal bands of yellow, pink, green, orange, and magenta against the dark ground, outlined in blue and black.
To the right of the central dog, two smaller upright figures stand beneath the gramophone — rendered in dark cotton with embroidered facial features including circular white eyes and pink and orange running-stitch details, one outlined in yellow and the other in pink. These figures appear to listen alongside the dog, adding a narrative quality to the scene. A small dark square at upper right contains the embroidered letters “AD” in red and white. At upper left, the word “RADIO” is rendered in mirror-reversed appliquéd letters in dark cotton outlined in yellow, green, and pink against the red ground. Along the bottom edge, a horizontal band framed in blue contains the mirror-reversed text “VICTORRECOR” (likely intended as “VICTOR RECORD”) in multicolored appliquéd letters — green, yellow, purple, pink, orange, and red — a characteristic feature of molas adapted from printed commercial sources, where the maker faithfully copied the text as it appeared from the reverse of the original image.
The red ground is filled throughout with rows of vertical slit work in orange, yellow, pink, green, teal, and white, leaving virtually no unworked space. A four-pointed star motif and small geometric forms in dark cotton with embroidered fill appear in the spaces around the central figures. The overall palette is dominated by warm reds and oranges with strong accents of blue, yellow, green, and pink.
Photos of a similar molas can be found on pages 12 and 240 of MOLAS Folk Art of the Cuna Indians by Parker and Neal.
Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection
Condition report:
Light general wear consistent with age and use. Colors remain vibrant throughout. In house Flat Rate US Shipping of $15 for 1 -10 molas, $5 each additional 10 molas. Insurance is additional and required.
Share this lot:
