Bidspirit auction | Guna Nuchu Carved Wood Medicine

Guna Nuchu Carved Wood Medicine Figure with Embroidered Cotton Tunic - Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s 11.25 inches Hand-carved wooden nuchu or uchu medicine doll with elongated cylindrical head and sensitively rendered facial features — deep-set eyes, a long aquiline nose, and a small pursed mouth. The figure is dressed in a miniature cotton tunic with an embroidered yoke worked in concentric bands of orange, pink, chartreuse, and purple yarn, finished with a red tie at the back of the neck. Nuchukana are sacred spirit figures carved from specific woods and called upon by Guna neles (shamans/medicine people) to house helper spirits who assist in healing ceremonies and protective rituals. Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection.