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Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Mola
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Mola

Artist/Maker (Guna Yala, Panama)
Datenot dated
MediumDyed cotton and thread
DimensionsOverall: 11 × 16 in. (27.9 × 40.6 cm)
ClassificationsCostumes and Accessories
Credit LineGift of Lynne Q. Adams in memory of Candice Barrs
Terms
    Object number2009.25.4
    On View
    Not on view
    Collections
    DescriptionTraditionally, Guna women use their dreams as inspiration for designs but they can also find inspiration from the environment around them. This mola depicts a gandule (flute man) playing his instrument. He is surrounded by iguanas and children as he plays. The Guna have a wide range of musical instruments including the rattle, panpipe, and flute but no drums or string instruments. There are no central guidelines for music making and music composition is learned experimentally. This piece incorporates several symbols, colors, and techniques that are customary to mola making. Red signifies blood, and the geometric figures and animals represent transformation. In Guna mythology a human has the ability to transform into an animal, a concept frequently illustrated in molas, which often contain anthropomorphic figures.
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
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    Mola
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    late 1940s-mid 1950s
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    Ocarina
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    ca. 1000-1550
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    The Contest of Apollo and Marsyas or Pan
    ca. 1545
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    Mola
    Guna people
    not dated
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    Portrait of a Noble Lady
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 1550
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    Mola
    Guna people
    ca. 1950
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Mola
    Guna people
    not dated
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    Bowl
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    ca. 750-850
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    Gourd Rattle
    Fante people
    collected between 1960-1973
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Ocarina
    Diquis
    ca. 500-1000
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Mola
    Eladia Herman
    ca. 2013
    eMuseum
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