Cleveland Museum of Art

Flower, Birds, and Profile Animal Mola Panel

Date

1900s

Medium

Cotton; reverse appliqué, appliqué, embroidery

Culture

Republic of Panamá, Gunayala Comarca, Guna people

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This whimsical, well-made panel was created by a female artist of the Guna, an Indigenous people of the Republic of Panamá. It was one of two identical or similar panels that were stitched into the front or back of a blouse (mola). Such blouses are so distinctive to the Guna that they are the single most recognizable element of Guna cultural identity. Such panels originally were sewn into blouses known as molas.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.