The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Iguana Mola Panel

Iguana Mola Panel

c. 1950–70
Location: not on view

Description

Guna standards of beauty are inseparable from technique—the best molas are challenging to execute and filled with laborious embellishments that enhance a mola’s splendor and bring prestige to its maker. Each filler, or decorative element, has a specific, doubled-syllable name. Das-das are short, parallel slits; idi-idi and ada-ada refer to lines edged with squared and triangular teeth, respectively; and wawa-naled are tiny triangles created
by adding fabric (so-called pips) or cutting it away (nips).
  • Fashioning Identity: Mola Textiles of Panamá. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 2020-January 9, 2022).
    Molas: Tribal Signature of the Cuna Indians. Beck Center for the Arts, Lakewood, OH (July 7-August 28, 1983).
    Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972).
  • {{cite web|title=Iguana Mola Panel|url=false|author=|year=c. 1950–70|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.217