The Riddle Of A Rainforest Instrument Kuna Mola

The Riddle Of A Rainforest Instrument Mola is a hand sewn textile by a Guna (Kuna) artisan in Panama. Two warm lines coil into a shape that could be a drum or a pair of gourd rattles, with squared spirals on top and long looping ones below, and the artist leaves you to decide which. Half the pleasure is the guessing, and nobody who sees it ever agrees. The panel is 15 inches wide and 12.5 inches high, a tidy size for a frame in a music room or a hallway. Hang it near a piano, a record collection or anywhere your household plays music.

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: 15"
Height: 12.5"
SKU: PM1098T