Cream Outlined Bird With Rainbow Wings Mola

A single bird fills this black panel with its wings thrown wide, the left wing cut into a fan of orange, pink, blue and green bars and the right side breaking into veined leaf shapes in red and teal. A soft cream outline runs around everything and keeps the busy shapes readable, while blocks of maroon, yellow and magenta float in the corners. The panel measures 15.5 inches wide by 12 inches high. All the cutting and hemming is done by hand.

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: 15.5"
Height: 12"
SKU: 22040276T