Browse Items (254 total)

Some images of the coral reef may be as illusionistic as this, showing how the same subject has many interpretations by different artists. Gracefully swimming fish, a seahorse, and a hermit crab appear very lifelike. The artist has even foreshortened…

Like other panels that take on “global” themes but give them definite Guna twists (see examples here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), especially related to Christianity, the very recent example at left juxtaposes tropical flowers and…

Dulemolaguna may include overtly political content as well as geometric and natural subject matter, as in the blouse with the Panamanian flag elements at right and the Panama Canal at left. Women have a strong voice in Guna chiefdoms, one reason they…

Pure whimsy and lighthearted humor characterize some contemporary dulemolaguna, such as this one featuring two dogs wearing sunglasses and perhaps carrying purses. The tropical flower between them and the lozenge-shaped cutouts in the background are…

The Guna free dive down as far as eighty feet to catch the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), or rock lobster, shown in the blouse panel. Spiny lobsters resemble "true" lobsters and are edible, except they have very long antennae and only…

This blouse panel represents the all-important coral reef that used to thrive in the San Blas Islands where the Guna live, but is now endangered. The piece renders coral as an abstract pattern of branching, pointed elements. It aptly communicates the…

Sets of tie-dyed warp threads (called cordeles) have been sold in the markets of Guatemala for decades. Without doing the tie-dyeing (jaspé) themselves, weavers can use them to make simple patterns such as in a small tzut. Cordeles in various stages…

Belts of many different kinds were used throughout the Andes well before the Inka and continue to be an accessory for indigenous men and women today. Being narrower than other garments, belts are one of the first items that Andean girls learn to…

Belts of many different kinds were used throughout the Andes well before the Inka and continue to be an accessory for indigenous men and women today. Being narrower than other garments, belts are one of the first items that Andean girls learn to…