Three Chili Pods With Green Caps Panama Mola

Three long pods with green leafy caps stand side by side on this panel, each one packed with bands of pink, blue, purple and gold. Gray and black maze outlines wrap around them and the whole design sits on a warm tangerine orange ground. The panel measures 15.5 inches wide by 12 inches high. It is worked by hand in layered reverse appliqué, with fine stitching filling every band.

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: 22051386T