Look Twice Before The Bulldog Looks Back Panama Mola

At first this looks like three great gourd shapes ringed in orange, green, cream and magenta with two long leaves lying across the upper corners, and then the eye settles and a bulldog stares back out of it, jowls and brow and all. That double reading is the whole pleasure of the panel. The forms are built from concentric outlines with rows of coloured running stitch filling the black interiors in rose, gold and blue, and the deep burgundy ground carries short strokes of orange, teal and yellow along both sides. It is 16 inches wide and 12 inches high. Each outline was cut down through layered cotton and the raw edges turned under with a needle in reverse applique, the method that makes every buried colour visible.

A mola is a hand stitched panel made by the Guna people of Panama, once known as the Kuna. Several layers of colored cotton are stacked, then cut down through one layer at a time so the colors underneath show through, and every raw edge is turned and stitched closed by hand. The technique is called reverse appliqué. Guna women have been refining it for generations, and the designs draw on the birds, fish, plants and geometric patterns of the islands and rainforest where they live.

TraderBrock has bought directly from Guna, Embera, Wounaan and Ngäbe artisans since 1991, and sales revenue goes back into those communities for education, medical care, tools and land. This panel came from Guna Yala, the San Blas islands off Panama's Caribbean coast. It is ready to frame, mount, or sew into a pillow or a quilt panel, and it can be hand washed. No two molas are ever alike, and small variations in size, stitching and color are normal in handmade textiles.

Width: 16"
Height: 12"
SKU: PM3947T

MACHINE WASHABLE To clean, machine wash in cold water on gentle cycle tumble dry on low, do not bleach or iron