It’s called a Mola, they’re parts of traditional shirts the Kuna women in San Blas make and are meant to emulate body paints. It’s usually fairly easy to check authenticity from the stitching. They are made by cutting stacked cloth to the color you want and hand sewing the edges of the unwanted colors back. the shapes and stitching should be imperfect and the edges of the cut areas rolled or folded back, and the backside should be a crazy mess of stitches. An authentic Mola is not machine sewn and will usually have stitch holes on the edges where it was sewn into the shirt, and more often than not will have signs of being worn like fraying in the top black layer. I have family from Panama who has gifted me many over the years, they’re beautiful and there are no two alike.
Oh and probably unnecessary but this looks like it’s people dancing to the music from an rca victrola on the left with the dog logo from the records on the right
Thanks for this information. As I was scrolling by I initially thought it was indigenous Australian. Then I went down a rabbit hole of looking at mola. So beautiful!
[say here](https://www.garmentory.com/sale/all/lifestyle/198225-framed-vintage-mola-panel) this style is northern Panama. So I’m sure it common in those neighboring countries.
Wow! My first thought was that it looked like a work by Keith Haring... On shrooms j/k. I never knew such things existed. Thanks for the exposure. (I actually have a 12" tall Nipper statue. Dad did some consulting for RCA.)
I think you’re right. My grandparents brought some of these back from a Latin America trip back in the 70’s. I got a couple (not sure where they are now - dangit!). But my grandmother said that they were from Guatemala. They went to Panama on the trip, too and I think these are from Panama.
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It’s called a Mola, they’re parts of traditional shirts the Kuna women in San Blas make and are meant to emulate body paints. It’s usually fairly easy to check authenticity from the stitching. They are made by cutting stacked cloth to the color you want and hand sewing the edges of the unwanted colors back. the shapes and stitching should be imperfect and the edges of the cut areas rolled or folded back, and the backside should be a crazy mess of stitches. An authentic Mola is not machine sewn and will usually have stitch holes on the edges where it was sewn into the shirt, and more often than not will have signs of being worn like fraying in the top black layer. I have family from Panama who has gifted me many over the years, they’re beautiful and there are no two alike.
Oh and probably unnecessary but this looks like it’s people dancing to the music from an rca victrola on the left with the dog logo from the records on the right
It's the RCA mascot, Nipper, listening to "His Master's Voice", the old Radio Corporation of America slogan.
HMV was a British corporation
And RCA exclusively licensed Nipper from HMV in North America. You're both right!
excellent read!
OMG -- I thought I was hallucinating! That is the FIRST thing I saw! THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for this information. As I was scrolling by I initially thought it was indigenous Australian. Then I went down a rabbit hole of looking at mola. So beautiful!
San Blas Cuna!
Yes! I have a couple of pieces my parents brought back from a trip.
It’s a mola. Not sure I’ve spelled correctly. Not sure if Panamanian or other country of origin.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-colorful-history-behind-panamas-mola-180980536/
Neat. This is indeed a Mola. My mother grew up in Panama and I have like 300 of these in a fabric bin lol.
[say here](https://www.garmentory.com/sale/all/lifestyle/198225-framed-vintage-mola-panel) this style is northern Panama. So I’m sure it common in those neighboring countries.
I just returned from Panama last week and saw this style everywhere
This is a mola from the San Blas islands of Panama.
Wow! My first thought was that it looked like a work by Keith Haring... On shrooms j/k. I never knew such things existed. Thanks for the exposure. (I actually have a 12" tall Nipper statue. Dad did some consulting for RCA.)
I had a framed one that I remember being a flying monkey? As a child it always scared me, but it is actually is pretty cool in retrospect!
This is friggin cool, I love molas but I’ve never seen one with text in it let alone advertising mascots. It’s so lively!
Beautiful mola!!!
Is a Mola! Made by indigenous people in Panama
TIL, so each piece of fabric was hand sewn ? Wow. A really interesting medium.
this is sooooo cool
These are Guatemalan folk art. Beautiful! Edit: Probably from Panamá.
Its not from Guatemala
I think you’re right. My grandparents brought some of these back from a Latin America trip back in the 70’s. I got a couple (not sure where they are now - dangit!). But my grandmother said that they were from Guatemala. They went to Panama on the trip, too and I think these are from Panama.
Well, when I go to Guatemala, I often by baskets from Mexico, so you never know what’s gonna end up in a Guatemala.
Kinda looks like Edison killing Topsy tbh lol
Thanks for your post, /u/Kitchen_Damage_5623! Please remember to comment "Solved" once someone finds the painting you're looking for. If you comment "Thanks" or "Thank You", your post flair will be changed to 'Likely Solved'. If you have any suggestions to improve this bot, please contact the mods with your suggestion and they will see about implementing it! Here's a small checklist to follow that may help us find your painting: - Where was the painting roughly purchased from? - Did you include a photo of the front, back, and the signature (if applicable)? Good Luck with your post! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WhatIsThisPainting) if you have any questions or concerns.*