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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Mola
Panamanian (Kuna)
1960s-1980s
Medium/Technique
cotton plain weave, reverse appliquéd and embroidered with cotton
Dimensions
Length x width: 34.3 × 43.2 cm (13 1/2 × 17 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Emanuel Balkin
Accession Number2018.3815
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionRectangular mola panel with red top, reverse appliquéd with polychrome cottons to depict series of concentric ellipses formed from alternating serrated and chevron-pieced bands, with curved discontinuous bands at left and right extremities, and triangular motifs at corners; two small triangular motifs at top at terminus of outer bands, perhaps representing Kuna huts.
ProvenanceBetween about 1962 and 1989, acquired by Emanuel Balkin and Lorraine Balkin (b. 1930 - d. 2017) for Décor International, Boston; 2018, gift of Emanuel Balkin to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 12, 2018)
NOTE: Emanuel and Lorraine Balkin founded and operated the gallery Décor International from 1962 until 1989.
NOTE: Emanuel and Lorraine Balkin founded and operated the gallery Décor International from 1962 until 1989.