Four Fruits Of The Garden In Maze Frames Kuna Mola

Four Fruits Of The Garden In Maze Frames Mola is a hand sewn textile by a Guna (Kuna) artisan in Panama. Four small windows each hold a different harvest, a leafy squash, a berry laden stem, a pepper on its stalk and a spotted gourd, with fine stitched rain lines falling behind them. It brings to mind a good morning at the market, when everything looks ripe and worth carrying home. At 17 inches wide and 14 inches high, it has the size to fill a kitchen wall nicely. Hang it above your dining table or beside the pantry door.

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: 17"
Height: 14"
SKU: PM1100T