Mola
Date1950s-60s
Label TextMolas are elaborate embroidered panels that make up the front and back of a woman’s blouse. The word originally meant “bird plumage” and the earliest designs were adapted from body painting. There is boundless variety of decorative forms, including abstract elements, visual storytelling, natural flora and fauna and—after the 1960s designs that adopted imagery from popular culture—helicopters and product logos.
Object number2018.26.10
ProvenancePrivate collection, Shaw Island, Washington, by the 1960s; to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2018
Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Cosmic Beings in Mesoamerican and Andean Art, Nov. 10, 2018 - ongoing [on view May 8 - Nov. 3, 2019].Credit LineGift of an anonymous donor
Dimensions21 x 25 in. (53.3 x 63.5 cm)
MediumCotton cloth and cotton thread
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