Old Kuna Indian Detailed Traditional Mola Art Reverse Applique Pepper Plants 36B

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Time consuming to create completely by hand and a tour de force ofperfection. collected in Ustupu Island, San Blas, Panama. Item 36B in our plant category. 18" x 13 1/2", very large size. A mola this perfect, this detailed and this large takes twice as long to complete than a lot of other molas. The most authentic, original, the purest and truest of all molas ever created were the geometrics ones and a must for any serious collection, harder and harder to locate today because most were created from the 1940’s to the 1970’s, they are abstract masterpieces of hand stitched applique. We pride ourselves in collecting direct, from village to village of the San Blas Islands, only the most outstanding, detailed, handmade and colorful panels we can find and the most traditional and oldest ones as well which are getting harder and harder to find. This particular type of geometric mola, with an image representing something that would not normally be abstract within an abstract background that it blends in as a complete mosaic, is one of the most traditional highly collectable original patterns that were once made in the 50's and evolved later from this kind of design into full blown more exact representations of the subjects themselves but still often with geometrics backgrounds. You are buying the intricate detailed vintage mola in the first photo, also seen on photo 3 and 5, a highly collectable & authentic folk art panel once created by a talented Kuna Indian and extremely detailed and an absolute perfect rendition of abstract stylized pepper fruit. A background of labyrinth maze motifs reminiscent of the brain coral that surrounds the islands and inspired from it surrounds 4 hanging fruit of intense eveness done with hard to render zigzag tooth motifs, incredible perfection and mastered technique. Pepper is an important fruit: Pots of green pepper incense, the fumes of which are supposed to ward off devils and evil spirits, all of whom detest smoke (the hot pepper variety most of all) are lighted by hot coals and the pots are placed under the hammocks of sick people or around anyone which might be in danger of having his soul snatched away by devils A vintage hand sewn Blouse mola by a great mola maker, very detailed: collected in the field Molas are wonderful traditional folk art hand stitched fabric panels that the Kuna women, from Indian tribes living in the remote San Blas islands off the coast of Panama, wear on the front and back of their blouses. They are masterpieces of time consuming intricate textile art, each created by an artistic accomplished seamstress with imagination, technique, originality and talent and each is unique: they are delicately and minutely hand sewn recreating either an abstract geometric motif reminiscent of body tattoos from their past, the brain coral that surrounds the islands, or inspired by kuna history, religion, shamanism or daily life and by what surrounds the makers such as nature, birds, animals, etc… and they are highly collectable in the world or textiles and visual arts. We sell them to museums and collectors all over the world. Each of our molas was removed from a blouse after we purchased it and is an original authentic fabric panel. We collect our molas one by one, in the field, to insure that we get the best work, rendition, originality, art and authenticity, with the best color combinations available in each island. My ebay site was just hacked by someone that took over my listings and replaced them by his own, as a result, my entire inventory was compromised and it will take months to relist what I have lost after finding out what it was in the first place, so if you do not see a mola you were watching, let us know so we can post it again right away. I cannot afford the time to rewrite my texts in full so if you have any questions or want to get our research on molas before purchasing, let us know. Kunas create motifs on panels, in reverse applique and applique, with ... read more

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