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Kuna Shirts From Panama In Brussels’ Art And History Museum, Anne-Françoise Martin

IX Jornadas Internacionales de Textiles Precolombinos y Amerindianos / 9th International Conference on Pre-Columbian and Amerindian Textiles, Museo delle Culture, Milan, 2022.

The Kuna live in the San Blas Archipelago off the coast of Panama. Kuna women make cotton shirts (mola/molakana) using the reverse appliqué technique. They start by superimposing several thin layers of very colourful fabric. A subtle positioning of cuts brings out the colours of the lower layers and creates patterns. Kuna women are inspired by plants and animals in the nature that surrounds them when creating these patterns. They also draw on a repertoire of patterns from everyday objects. These shirts, sewn with pride and a great deal of humour, can tell us a lot about Kuna society. They …