Bidspirit auction | Guna Mola Blouse Stylized Mirrored

Guna Mola Blouse Stylized Mirrored Bird Figures - Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s 17 x 18.5 inches A traditional Guna woman's blouse with two mola panels (front and back), worked in 3 layers of hand reverse applique, applique, and hand embroidery with rickrack trim. The blouse has a navy floral printed cotton yoke and puffed sleeves, a red neck binding, and a navy hem band. On the front panel, two large figures are each formed from a pair of mirrored bird heads with curved beaks, joined by a central heart and crowned with branching forms ending in small dots. Between them stands a creature with dotted antennae and a fish-like tail, with smaller fish and rounded motifs filling the ground. On the back panel, two symmetrical figures are each built from mirrored bird heads above a body divided vertically into two color schemes, with branching hands and lobed lower forms. This split-color, mirror-image construction is a hallmark of Guna mola design, and the ground is densely filled with multicolored slits.