Nuchu-form doll; carved balsa-wood head and body dressed in mola reverse-applique cloth with headscarf
Shown on a display stand, included (base 10 x 10 cm)
30 cm high; 0.3 kg
20th century
Good condition
Every KOBK object is one of one and carries its age honestly. Expect marks, wear and patina as part of the piece; any specific fault is noted above. Where an object is photographed on a stand, the stand is included.
Notes
A doll from the Guna people of Panama, the type usually catalogued as a nuchu doll, a carved balsa figure dressed in mola cloth, the layered reverse-applique textile the Guna are famous for, built up in panels of colour and cut back to reveal the design beneath. Mola work is one of the great living textile traditions of the Americas, and the dolls are made and sold openly by Guna makers themselves.
The face is carved wood, the dress is the real thing, and the whole figure carries the bold graphic sense that makes mola instantly recognisable. A genuine piece of a continuing culture, not a relic of a vanished one.
