The most authentic, original, the purest and truest of all molas ever created were the geometrics ones and a must for any serious collection, harder and harder to locate today because most were created from the 1940’s to the 1970’s, they are abstract masterpieces of hand stitched applique. We pride ourselves in collecting direct, from village to village of the San Blas Islands, only the most outstanding, detailed, handmade and colorful panels we can find and the most traditional and oldest ones as well which are getting harder and harder to find.

You are buying the intricate detailed vintage mola in the first and 3rd photos, a highly collectable & authentic folk art panel once created by a Kuna Indian.

Unique detailed geometric motif of a shaman ‘s Nuchu protective figures seen as perfect mirror images with the intense maze motif background that usually accompanies many molas as it is inspired from the brain coral that surrounds the islands.

This particular type of geometric mola, with an image representing something that would not normally be abstract within an abstract background that it blends in as a complete mosaic, is one of the most traditional highly collectable original patterns that were once made in the 50's and evolved later from this kind of design into full blown more exact representations of the subjects themselves but still often with geometrics backgrounds.

Time consuming to create completely by hand

Detailed work: size is 16" X 11"

collected in Ustupu Island, San Blas, Panama.

(and item number 80B, Category: Geometric figures)

Molas are wonderful traditional folk art hand stitched fabric panels that the Kuna women, from Indian tribes living in the remote San Blas islands off the coast of Panama, wear on the front and back of their blouses. They are masterpieces of time consuming intricate textile art, each created by an artistic accomplished seamstress with imagination, technique, originality and talent and each is unique: they are delicately and minutely hand sewn recreating either an abstract geometric motif reminiscent of body tattoos from their past,  the brain coral that surrounds the islands, or inspired by kuna history, religion, shamanism or daily life and by what surrounds the makers such as nature, birds, animals, etc…  and they are highly collectable in the world or textiles and visual arts. We sell them to museums and collectors all over the world.

Each of our molas was removed from a blouse after we purchased it and is an original authentic fabric panel.

The most authentic, original, the purest and truest of all molas ever created were the geometrics ones and a must for any serious collection, harder and harder to locate today because most were created from the 1940’s to the 1970’s, they are abstract masterpieces of handsewn applique. We pride ourselves in collecting direct, from village to village of the San Blas Islands, only the most outstanding, detailed, handmade and colorful panels we can find and the most traditional and oldest ones as well which are getting harder and harder to find.

We collect our molas one by one, in the field, to insure that we get the best work, rendition, originality, art and authenticity, with the best color combinations available in each island. My ebay site was just hacked by someone that took over my listings and replaced them by his own, as a result, my entire inventory was compromised and it will take months to relist what I have lost after finding out what it was in the first place, so if you do not see a mola you were watching, let us know so we can post it again right away. I cannot afford the time to rewrite my texts in full so if you have any questions or want to get our research on molas before purchasing, let us know.

Kunas create motifs on panels, in reverse applique and applique, with fabrics of different colors, panels that they will later wear with a great deal of pride as imagination, taste, technique and color combining abilities affects each creation, which is often enhanced by minute and perfectly rendered embroideries, the finished product earning respect  and status for the maker. Creating a detailed mola, on average, takes 1 month but it can take longer according to the intensity of the motifs, the difficulty of the pattern, the detail involved,  and the proximity of the stitches.  We only buy the best work that can be found on the premises and remove the molas ourselves from the blouses.

One cannot but admire the intense detail of the motifs and the richness of colors and embroideries of this unique disappearing art.                                               Some very demanding molas workwise made by the best of experts show perfectly rendered backgrounds such as these:

1) Labyrinth background inspired by brain coral.

2) Tiny triangles lined with different color fabrics.

3) Crosses like multiplication signs.

4) Saw teeth lines

We are closing the doors of our Florida store located on Federal Highway in Boca Raton within the year in order to retire so we are selling as much as we can from the store and on the internet now.

Check Dominique Rice Oceania Store in Sun Sentinel Newspaper, Fort Lauderdale, for information on our large collection of authentic art and rare artifacts.

We have artifacts, textiles, collectables and architectural accents up to 10 ft tall that we will put up upon request because shipping has to be calculated accordingly with a trucking company.

Check my “Me” page (the “Me” is next to the star with my number of transactions after my seller’s name asmatcollection in any of my listings) for valuable information about all we carry besides what is currently listed since we do not have time to list everything at once and will add other items to this site as time permits.

All our unusual handcrafted or rare items come with pages of research and authenticity information concerning them, with history of the tribes and photos as well, depending on item and whenever possible.

In the case of the molas, we will send you 5 lengthy documents with photos referring to everything you need to know about them, from their history to their spiritual meanings or messages, the traditions still embraced thru them, and the difficult task of creating them.

Molas are getting harder and harder to collect in the field and as a result have tripled or x 4 in price on location, as the tradition is disappearing. We just returned from a trip to Panama and in many San Blas islands' villages, we did not find a single person wearing one or having one for sale. It saddened us a great deal to see such a wonderful art not being passed on to the next generation anymore as the knowledge and beauty of creating these artistic fabric panels is being lost as a result, but the next generation, as everywhere else, is not interested in creating 2 blouse panels that can take, each, 1 month or more to complete, and are looking forward to a more modern future, while wearing western clothing, since now many islands have electricity which leads to computers, cell phones and TV’s and to the extinction of the need to craft.

It is the first trip i noticed such a tremendous decrease in the production and wear of such a wonderful and colorful traditional attire soon to be a distant memory. I am afraid true not-made-for-tourists molas which are the only kind we collect by choice (unless we have requests for the other newer types: which are beautiful as well in their own respect, but were never worn on a blouse) will soon be all gone.

To this day, we have prized ourselves in collecting the best we can find: authentic traditional blouse mola panels, that we remove from the blouses ourselves, purchasing them one by one direct from the islands’ artists: we only collect work created with handsewn stitches, sometimes so small they are almost invisible,

This is a fabric art that will be a thing of the past in a very near future.

Additional pictures placed here also show a variety of photos from our trips such as my husband distributing goods to the Indian community, village scenes, a mola being started, a Kuna woman wearing one, and also how they can be used in your home to create a great cheerful and colorful one of a kind accent.

If you want to see some of our framed molas, framed in unique signed hand painted frames matching each mola, or the fun delightful pillows we create with them, each one of a kind as well, contact us so that we can send you pictures which will give you wonderful ideas on how to display and use them in your home.

We sell our framed molas and pillows in art galleries around Florida as well as in our store and sites.

When shipping internationally, we group ship multiple purchases to save you money, and find the best rates which ebay often fails to calculate right. If you have any questions or want to see research conducted on this piece and photos of tribes, email or call us.