Kuna Mola 1950s - Kit Kapp Collection - Man Riding a Manatee!

Description

This special mola features the very unusual image of a man riding a manatee along side another man in a boat. The
character
riding the manatee almost looks like some sort of shark/man hybrid. He poses stylishly to show of his manatee riding skills to the passer by in the boat. I can only imagine what inspired such an image. This is one of the most unique molas we have featured in a long time. Made in the 1950's this mola measures 20w x 18h
The Kit Kapp Collection.
Kit Kapp was a cartographer who was hired to map the San Blas Islands in 1960. He quickly fell in love with the Kuna people and their art, and organized numerous lengthy expeditions to the islands over an 11 year period where he purchased thousands of molas and hundreds of Kuna nuchu carvings, as well as jewelry, basketry and other artifacts. In 1972 he published the seminal book
Mola Art of the San Blas Islands,
which is still one of the best reference books on the subject. Kit died in 2014. Between 1999 and 2016 we purchased the entire remainder of the Kapp Kuna collection.