Bidspirit auction | Guna Nuchu Carved Wood Medicine

Guna Nuchu Carved Wood Medicine Figure in Purple and White Striped Woven Tunic - Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1950s 11 inches Hand-carved wooden nuchu or uchu medicine doll with a substantial cylindrical body tapering slightly toward the base and a sensitively modeled head featuring heavy-lidded almond eyes, a long straight nose, prominent rounded cheeks, and a slightly parted mouth. The figure is dressed in a sleeveless handwoven tunic worked in bold vertical stripes of purple and cream, embellished across the lower body with supplementary-weft embroidery in orange and blue geometric banding. 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.