Four Bunnies On An Orange Branch Museum Quality Mola

A branching orange framework spreads across a deep red ground, and perched in its forks are four small animals, all ears and round bellies. A blue one on the left, a gold one on the right, a violet one up top, and down at the bottom a red bird with a yellow speckled breast. Leaves in teal, magenta, lime, and purple hang off the branches around them. Down both edges the Guna woman who made this ran a comb pattern that looks like a maze standing on end, and it frames the whole scene like a garden gate. At 23" wide by 17" high (full measurements below), this vintage Panama mola is one of the biggest we have, hand-stitched reverse applique from Panama in the 1960s and 1970s. It is a storybook of a panel and children love it. There is only one, and this is it.

These are the oldest molas we have. Every panel in this collection dates to the 1960s and 1970s and was collected in Panama by our founder, Len Brockman, on sourcing trips he made decades before TraderBrock opened in 1991. They sat in his personal collection for years. We are only now bringing them out.

A mola is made by layering fabric and cutting down through it, stitching each edge by hand as you go. The Guna women of Guna Yala have been doing this for generations, and the work in these older panels is on a different level from what you find today. More layers, tighter stitching, and designs that were meant to be worn rather than sold. Look closely and you can see how small the stitches are. That is the part no machine has ever managed to copy.

• Width: 23"
• Height: 17"
• SKU: PM3830T

Each mola is stitched entirely by hand, so gentle care keeps it looking its best.

Hand wash in cold water with a mild soap, on its own. Do not wring, bleach, or tumble dry. Lay flat to dry, out of direct sun. If needed, press on the back with a warm iron, with a cloth between the iron and the mola.