Mola

Museum number:
3-30175
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21030030175
Alternate number:
MVC-0002 (previous number (MVC number, Mossman-Vitale collection))
Accession number:
Acc.4734
Description:
Blouse with mola; yoke 12 cm w. x 39 cm; l. short sleeves 17 cm l. ,synthetic material w/ yellow, green, orange, white, floral pattern; sleeves trimmed w/ red rickrack on black cotton,: Yoke: front has cotton string tie, neckline trimmed in white cotton, 48 cn. l.; red, and black cotton appliqué pieces back and front, 13 cm x 4cm.3cm; 4 cm blue, green and white cotton print with 1 cm strip of orange material in center sewn on with machine. Mola, back and front sewn together, almost identical center motifs on back and front.Front:anthropomorphic crowned rabbit(?) head with 2 ears containing leaf-like images; lower half of mola has 2 similar anrhopomorphic rabbit(?) faces; black apelike figure below 2 faces; cactus (?) motif above central face; reverse applique (black is bottom fabric, red is top fabric, w/ orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, black, white and printed fabric: Back, same basic design ; with central motif with a hat instead of a crown; upper figure is apelike instead of cactus. Embroidery on faces Background in 3 cm. vertical lines, white, light blue, yellow.
Donor:
Kathleen Vitale and Paul Vitale
Collection place:
San Blas Islands, Panama
Verbatim coll. place:
Central America; Panama; San Blas Islands; Cuna.
Culture or time period:
Kuna
Collector:
Rachel Gould Mossman
Collection date:
1967
Materials:
Cotton (textile) and Synthetic
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Embroidery (visual works) and Molas
Function:
2.1 Daily Garb
Accession date:
June 23, 2006
Context of use:
worn by Cuna women; trade item
Department:
Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean area
Images:
Hearst Museum object titled Mola, accession number 3-30175, described as Blouse with mola; yoke 12 cm w. x 39 cm; l. short sleeves 17 cm l. ,synthetic material w/ yellow, green, orange, white, floral pattern; sleeves trimmed w/ red rickrack on black cotton,: Yoke: front has cotton string tie, neckline trimmed in white cotton, 48 cn. l.; red, and black cotton appliqué pieces back and front, 13 cm x 4cm.3cm; 4 cm blue, green and white cotton print with 1 cm strip of orange material in center sewn on with machine. Mola, back and front sewn together, almost identical center motifs on back and front.Front:anthropomorphic crowned rabbit(?) head with 2 ears containing leaf-like images; lower half of mola has 2 similar anrhopomorphic rabbit(?) faces; black apelike figure below 2 faces; cactus (?) motif above central face; reverse applique (black is bottom fabric, red is top fabric, w/ orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, black, white and printed fabric: Back, same basic design ; with central motif with a hat instead of a crown; upper figure is apelike instead of cactus. Embroidery on faces Background in 3 cm. vertical lines, white, light blue, yellow.

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