The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 11, 2026

A rectangular cotton textile piece with bright lime green fabric layered over a warm red background to create a symmetrical geometric design. Mirrored, wing-like shapes with nested V-shaped paths and small cross accents form a dense network divided by a central vertical axis. Fine red lines detail the green shapes throughout, while rough, frayed red edges border the perimeter of the vibrant, hand-stitched work.

Labyrinth Mola Panel

before 1960

Republic of Panamá, Gunayala Comarca, Guna people

Cotton; reverse appliqué, appliqué
Overall: 42 x 53 cm (16 9/16 x 20 7/8 in.)
Gift of Howard A. Aronson 2021.153
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Panels like this one originally were sewn into blouses known as molas.

Description

This Labyrinth Mola Panel is executed in one of the most prestigious of Guna mola-making techniques. Known as bisu-bisu, it is a geometric maze of evenly spaced lines that create winding paths across the surface and visually dissolve the divide between figure and ground.
  • 1960-2021
    Marjorie Tomchuk, New Canaan, CT, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2021-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Labyrinth Mola Panel|url=false|author=|year=before 1960|access-date=11 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.153