Bidspirit auction | Guna Mola Panel The Finding

Guna Mola Panel The Finding of Baby Moses - Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s–1980s 13.5 x 17 inches Finely worked reverse appliqué mola panel depicting the Biblical narrative of the finding of baby Moses, inscribed ”SE SALVA Y LA BEBE MOISES” in polychrome appliquéd letters, executed in two layers of dark red and black cotton with extensive appliqué and hand embroidery throughout. The central scene shows the infant Moses swaddled in white spotted cloth within a striped basket, being lifted by Pharaoh's daughter at right, who is rendered in elaborate flowing robes densely filled with polychrome linear embroidery and wears a dramatic rainbow-striped headdress. A second female figure at upper left, likely Moses' sister Miriam, watches the scene wearing a beaded headband and striped garments. Both figures feature detailed facial features rendered in yellow outline with polychrome seed stitching. The background is filled with a grid of polychrome X-shaped cross-stitch motifs. An exceptional narrative mola illustrating Guna engagement with Biblical subject matter. Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection.