Guna Mola Panel with Marine Life and Zoomorphic Figures

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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
  Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s 14 × 16 inches An exuberant mola panel worked in three layers of reverse appliqué, appliqué, and embroidery featuring a vibrant marine and terrestrial menagerie arranged across multiple registers. This piece exemplifies the Guna aesthetic of horror vacui—the filling of all available space with pattern, color, and imagery—while maintaining compositional clarity through careful organization of diverse zoomorphic elements. The composition presents seven distinct creatures arranged in three horizontal registers against a brilliant red ground activated throughout with vertical dashed embroidery in alternating colors—pink, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, and blue—creating rhythmic striping that suggests water currents, atmospheric energy, or simply decorative patterning. The central and most prominent figure is a large horse or donkey rendered in black with yellow outlining, positioned in the lower register. The creature's body is filled with extraordinarily dense embroidery featuring hundreds of small pinwheel or spiral motifs in rainbow colors scattered across the black ground like a field of spinning flowers or stars. The torso displays additional dotted embroidery patterns, while the legs show white and red striping. The head features characteristic equine proportions with alert ears and simplified facial features. Flanking this central horse in the upper corners are two anthropomorphic figures rendered in black with contrasting color outlining—pink on the left, blue on the right. The left figure displays rainbow-colored concentric outlining around its form and holds or contains a green rectangular element with red dashed embroidery. The right figure, outlined in turquoise blue, shows similar dense embroidery patterning including colorful pinwheel motifs scattered throughout the body, with white outlining defining the legs and a distinctive cat-like or foxlike head with pointed ears and facial features. The upper register features a long horizontal fish or sea creature rendered in rainbow-colored striping—the body filled with concentric bands of red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and purple running horizontally from head to tail. This elongated form stretches nearly across the entire width of the composition, creating a strong horizontal organizing element. Two smaller fish occupy the middle register—one on each side of center. The left fish is rendered in black with pink outlining and rainbow-colored chevron embroidery filling the body, creating a herringbone or feather pattern. The right fish displays similar construction with purple and yellow striping. Both fish include white appliqué eyes and simplified tail fins. Three small square motifs appear in the central upper register, each outlined in different colors (turquoise, orange, yellow) with internal markings including an X symbol—these may represent windows, decorative elements, or abstract symbolic forms. The composition is unified by a continuous orange curvilinear border that weaves through the upper and middle registers, creating interconnected spaces while maintaining the integrity of each individual creature. This organizing device demonstrates sophisticated compositional thinking—the maker has created distinct zones for each animal while simultaneously linking them through shared spatial flow. The embroidery work throughout is exceptionally labor-intensive, particularly in the central horse figure where hundreds of individual pinwheel motifs required careful planning and execution. This density of hand-stitching elevates the piece beyond standard tourist-era production into the realm of serious textile artistry. Worked on brilliant red cotton ground with black interlayer. Exceptionally dense hand-stitching throughout with varied embroidery techniques including spiral/pinwheel motifs, chevron patterning, and dashed running stitches. Three-layer reverse appliqué construction with sophisticated multi-colored outlining. Strong compositional control organizing multiple figures across horizontal registers. Single panel on red cotton ground with black interlayer visible throughout. Red backing visible at reverse. Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection

  Condition

  Minor wear consistent with age. Colors remain exceptionally vibrant. In house Flat Rate US Shipping of $15 for 1 -10 molas, $5 each additional 10 molas. Insurance is additional and required.
• Shipping Info

  • In House Shipping is available and we will combine for economy. We will charge a $5 per additional lot within the same box. All items are shipped with Insurance. In person pick up is also available in our Princeton, NJ Auction Facility.

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