Artwork Page for Monster with Double-Headed Serpent Mola Panel

Details / Information for Monster with Double-Headed Serpent Mola Panel

Monster with Double-Headed Serpent Mola Panel

c. 1950–70

Republic of Panamá, Gunayala Comarca, Guna people, Usdub community

Medium
cotton: reverse appliqué, appliqué, embroidery
Measurements
Overall: 46.4 x 58.4 cm (18 1/4 x 23 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. F. Louis Hoover 1971.198
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Made in pairs—identical or closely related—mola panels naturally play on the concept of duality. The idea of the double runs deep in Guna belief, and this framework also guides the designs of individual panels. Motifs are often doubled, presented as mirror images, or composed so that one side of the design mimics the other, like here, with strong emphasis on balancing the right and left sides of the composition.
A horizontal cotton reverse appliqué panel features a vibrant red field dominated by a sinuous creature with nested orange and yellow outlines. Its body terminates in serpent-like heads, surrounded by a dense scatter of multicolored triangles. In the upper half, a small pink animal with dark spots sits between circular motifs with interior crosses. A rhythmic row of multicolored vertical stripes borders the bottom of this intricately layered textile with frayed edges.

Monster with Double-Headed Serpent Mola Panel

c. 1950–70

Republic of Panamá, Gunayala Comarca, Guna people, Usdub community

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