Guna Mola Panel Depicting Helicopter with Passengers

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The Parker & Neal Mola Collection - Part 1

By Dana Auctions LLC

May 16, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-05-16 11:00:00 2026-05-16 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Parker & Neal Mola Collection - Part 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/dana-auctions-llc/the-parker-neal-mola-collection---part-1-23111
The Parker-Neal Mola Collection Auction on May 16 presents a compelling selection of molas drawn from the renowned collection of Ann Parker and Avon Neal, co-authors of Molas: Folk Art of the Cuna Indians. This first offering has been thoughtfully curated to highlight some of the most interesting and visually striking examples from their extensive holdings. Dana Auctions LLC dana@danaauctions.com

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• Lot Description
  Guna Mola Panel Depicting Helicopter with Passengers Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s-1980s 15 × 19.75 inches An exceptional narrative mola panel worked in three layers of reverse appliqué, appliqué, and embroidery depicting a helicopter in flight with visible passengers and distinctive rotor assembly. This piece exemplifies the Guna tradition of documenting twentieth-century technological encounters, creating a visual record of modern aviation observed and interpreted through indigenous textile vocabulary. The central composition presents a large helicopter rendered in an elongated boat-like form outlined in blue with orange border against the burgundy-red ground. The fuselage interior is divided into compartments revealing three anthropomorphic passenger figures seated within windowed sections. Each figure displays characteristic Guna facial features with white appliqué eyes, embroidered details, and bodies filled with dense dotted embroidery in red, burgundy, and green. The passengers are framed by white-outlined rectangular windows with black surrounds, demonstrating the maker's careful observation of aircraft fenestration and interior visibility. The helicopter body features elaborately embroidered horizontal banding in white, pink, and blue running stitches, creating striped patterning that represents the aircraft's painted livery or structural panels. Below this band, a row of four small square motifs in yellow, red, green, and turquoise displays crossed diagonal lines—likely representing rivets, panel fastenings, or structural elements observed on the aircraft's exterior. Additional vertical dashed embroidery in white, pink, blue, and orange activates the lower fuselage area, suggesting windows, vents, or additional mechanical details. Dominating the upper composition, a large rotor assembly is rendered in a cruciform configuration—accurately depicting the main rotor blades as they appear from below during flight. The rotor hub shows detailed construction with a central gray circular mechanism, while the blade arms extend symmetrically with elaborate embroidered patterns. The left and right blades display feather-like or chevron stitching in yellow-green and yellow, possibly representing the rotor blur effect or the maker's interpretation of the blades' aerodynamic surfaces. A small burgundy form caps the rotor assembly, likely representing the rotor mast or control mechanism. The entire rotor configuration demonstrates sophisticated observational skill—the maker has translated the rotating blades as they would appear to a ground observer watching a helicopter overhead or in flight, capturing both the mechanical structure and the visual effect of motion. Secondary motifs include two smaller flower-like or propeller forms at left and right mid-composition, each with four petal-like extensions filled with varied embroidery patterns in green, yellow, red, and blue. These may represent additional rotors, mechanical elements, or decorative motifs that balance the composition. The composition is bordered on all four edges by an irregular chain of abstract geometric forms in yellow, green, blue, pink, and white, creating letter-like or mechanical elements that frame the central narrative. These border motifs may represent observed text from the aircraft, instrument panels, or decorative patterning. This mola documents the increased presence of helicopters in the San Blas region during the 1970s-1980s, associated with medical evacuations, government visits, supply transport, or commercial flights linking the islands to mainland Panama. The careful attention to passenger visibility, rotor mechanics, and fuselage details suggests the maker had multiple opportunities to observe these aircraft at close range. The piece demonstrates sophisticated narrative thinking—the helicopter is not merely depicted as an exterior silhouette, but as a transparent vessel revealing its human cargo and mechanical workings simultaneously. This x-ray or cutaway approach is characteristic of advanced Guna visual thinking, where understanding the interior function is as important as documenting exterior appearance. Worked on burgundy-red cotton ground with layers in black and gray. Exceptionally fine hand-stitching throughout with dense embroidery in varied techniques including running stitch, chain stitch, and seed stitch. Three-layer reverse appliqué construction with sophisticated nested rectangular forms and color reveals. Strong compositional control balancing central narrative with framing border elements. Single panel on burgundy cotton ground with gray interlayer visible throughout. Black backing visible at reverse. A photo of a similar mola can be found on p. 148 of MOLAS Folk Art of the Cuna Indians by Parker and Neal. Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection

  Condition

  Minor wear consistent with age, fading in some areas. In house Flat Rate US Shipping of $15 for 1 -10 molas, $5 each additional 10 molas. Insurance is additional and required.
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