LATIN AMERICAN MOLA TEXTILE APPLIQUED KUNA WOMEN NATIVE ART BIRDS DUCKS LEAVES

Description: VIBRANT 2-BIRDS DUCKS LEAVES MOTIF TEXTILE WOMEN NATIVE TRADITIONAL ART Type of Object: MOLA ART Ethnic Group: GUNA/KUNA Country of Origin: PANAMA Materials: APPLIQUED COTTON FABRIC PANEL Approximate Age: 10 + years Dimensions: 16.0" by 12.0". Weight: 54.0 grams; 0.12 lbs; 2.0 oz. Overall Condition: EXCELLENT Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's custom office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying. Update on recent MOLA acquisitions: In November of 2017 my wife, Elpie, accompanied me on a somewhat grueling collecting expedition to 4 islands in the San Blas Archipelago chain known as Guna Yala. Our first stop was in the village of Playon Chico, reached by a small Air Panama Cessna and then by motor launch. We stayed in the village with a Guna family and came away with a few choice molas and 5 Uchu (nuchu) wooden healing figures. Despite the excessive heat coupled with the alternative continual Tropical downpours which contributed to our exhaustion we were continually motivated by the friendliness of the Guna inhabitants, especially the children. After two days collecting we began our return to Panama city via Carti Sugdup with an early morning communal motor launch. We decided to concentrate our remaining time by collecting on three islands in the Carti group; Tupile, Yandup and Sugdup, which proved to be most rewarding. The skill, needle work and imagination of the women Mola makers here on Sugdup is quite superlative, which I based on the refined, tightly sewn stitching, and variety of colors and themes. Repetitive motifs both classic and inventive were to be found here on Sugdup despite the constant exposure to non-indian interaction from tourists, which incidentally may have influenced the quality and inventiveness of the sewers by factors of supply and demand. The sale of molas contributes to the local economy and provides supplemental income to the family unit. In addition, the Mola, the icon of the Kuna nation, further strengthens the Kuna identity and helps perpetuate their successful social cohesion. Our Mola collecting which began and ended in Panama was bracketed by visits and purchases in the Panama old city on the promenade of los Bobedos in Casco Antiguo where displays of Molas and other crafts were found I began my fieldwork and ethnographic studies in Kuna Yala in 1979 and have been steadily traveling back there ever since. Every Mola featured in the Ethnix gallery has been directly collected from one of these very special journeys.

Price: 75 USD

Location: Bedford, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-04-07T22:04:24.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD