Bidspirit auction | Pair of Painted Guna Nuchu

Pair of Painted Guna Nuchu Carved Wood Medicine Figure - Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1960s 10.5, 8.5 inches Two hand-carved wooden nuchu or uchu medicine dolls each painted in vivid polychrome pigments — a relatively uncommon finish for Guna figures, which are more often left plain or treated with black coating. The taller figure (10.5 inches) wears a grey-blue brimless cap above a narrow elongated face, a yellow tunic with black and green V-neck collar, and green trousers, with arms carved crossed at the waist in a distinctive gesture of containment or self-holding. The shorter figure (8.5 inches) is clad entirely in pale turquoise-blue paint with russet-red accents at the face, chest, and lower body; it wears a close-fitting rounded cap over a wide, expressive face with carved nose and mouth and inset red glass trade-bead eyes, and stands on an oval integral base with legs separated by a carved negative space. 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; painted examples such as these are often identified with specific outsider or foreign spirit personae whose powers are invoked by the nele. Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection.