Artwork Page for Two Birds Mola Panel

Details / Information for Two Birds Mola Panel

Two Birds Mola Panel

c. 1950–1970

Republic of Panamá, Gunayala Comarca, Wissubwala, Guna people

Medium
cotton: reverse appliqué, appliqué, embroidery
Measurements
Overall: 39.5 x 47.5 cm (15 9/16 x 18 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. F. Louis Hoover 1971.213
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 like here, or composed so that one side of the design mimics the other, with strong emphasis on balancing the right and left sides of the composition.
A rectangular cotton textile depicts two mirrored birdlike figures facing each other against a vibrant red background. Their bodies and wings are filled with multicolored vertical stripes in shades of yellow, green, and blue. Jagged geometric shapes, including triangles and squares, surround the birds and fill the remaining space. Intricate multicolored embroidery and reverse appliqué detail the layered fabric, with a central tiered shape positioned between the birds' clawed feet.

Two Birds Mola Panel

c. 1950–1970

Republic of Panamá, Gunayala Comarca, Wissubwala, Guna people

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