Mirrored Birds Sharing A Red Blossom Panama Mola

Mirrored Birds Sharing A Red Blossom Mola is a hand sewn textile panel made by the Guna people of Panama, known for generations as the Kuna. Two birds turn away from one another but stay joined at the center by a single blossom, and a magenta spiral sits between their tails where the design closes itself off. Turned apart and still connected, which is a neat thing to say in cloth. At 16.5 inches wide and 5 inches high it is a long, narrow shape that solves a shelf edge or a run of wall most art will not fit. Right above a doorway, along a bookshelf, or down the length of a hall.

Molas are built by stacking several layers of colored cotton, then cutting down through one layer at a time so the colors underneath show through, and turning every raw edge under and stitching it closed by hand. The technique is called reverse appliqué, and a good panel is judged by how fine the stitches are and how many layers deep the cutting goes. This one came from Guna Yala, the San Blas islands off Panama's Caribbean coast, where the designs draw on the birds, fish, plants and geometric patterns of the islands and rainforest. It is ready to frame, mount, or sew into a pillow or a quilt panel, and no two are ever alike.

Founded in 1991, TraderBrock celebrates the handcraft of Latin America's indigenous peoples. Every piece comes from Guna, Wounaan and Emberá artisans we know by name, and all profits are reinvested in their communities for education, tools and the teaching of ancestral techniques. Buying from TraderBrock helps keep their culture and their traditions alive.

Width: 16.5"
Height: 5"
SKU: 22051782T