Threads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles
Dulemola (Blouse Panel) with Caribbean Spiny Lobster
Title
Dulemola (Blouse Panel) with Caribbean Spiny Lobster
Description
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 females have small claws on their back legs. Bright orange in color, with many spiky dots, this animal is well captured by the artist's use of the orange top cloth and the many elaborately cut-through color segments on its body and tail. The serrated edges on the triangles in the main body are particularly apt versions of the animal's bumpy surface. This type of edge is the most challenging to make, and indicates the hand of a skilled textile artist.
Geographic Area
Central America, Guna Yala (San Blas Islands/North Coast of Panamá)
Culture
Guna
Date
20th century
Materials
Cotton
Credit Line
Lent by Sherry Thorup
Accession Number
L2016.16.5
Photo Credit
Photo by Michael McKelvey, 2017