Bidspirit auction | Guna Mola Panel with Caimen

Guna Mola Panel with Caimen and Shark - Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s 18 × 26 inches Worked in three layers of reverse appliqué with applied appliqué and embroidery. Three caimans and a single shark fill the composition against a dark navy ground. The dominant caiman stretches across the upper register, its curving body filled with dense triangular cutwork in yellow revealing red and blue beneath, its open jaws displaying sawtooth teeth at right. Two smaller caimans and a shark occupy the lower register, each outlined in blue and red channels. Multicolored slit-work fill bars in red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, pink, purple, and white enliven the surrounding field. Embroidered running-stitch details accent the eyes and head of the principal figure. A bold, fully filled composition with strong graphic impact. Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection