Dana Auctions to Offer the Parker & Neal Mola Collection, May 16

200 lots of Guna Yala reverse-appliqué textiles from the private holdings of Ann Parker & Avon Neal, co-authors of the book Molas: Folk Art of the Cuna Indians,

PRINCETON, NJ, UNITED STATES, May 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Princeton, NJ —April 20, 2026 — Dana Auctions will hold the first auction of the Parker & Neal Mola Collection on Saturday, May 16, 2026, offering 200 lots of hand-stitched mola panels from the Guna Yala comarca of Panama. The auction marks the first public dispersal of one of the most significant and best-documented private collections of mola textile art ever assembled in the United States.

The collection was formed by Ann Parker and Avon Neal, co-authors of Molas: Folk Art of the Cuna Indians (Barre Publishing, 1977), the first definitive book on the mola tradition and still the standard reference in the field. Parker, a photographer, and Neal, a folklorist and writer, traveled repeatedly to the San Blas Islands across the 1960s and 1970s, collecting directly from Guna women and documenting the textile tradition for scholarly publication. Their book has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution, the William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut, and institutional collections worldwide.

“Collections of this provenance almost never come to market,” said Dana, proprietor of Dana Auctions. “These are the panels Ann Parker and Avon Neal chose to keep for themselves while building the scholarship that defined the field. The breadth of iconography, the technical range, and the documentation behind every piece make this an extraordinary opportunity for collectors and institutions alike.”

Highlights of the May 16 Auction
The 200 lots span every major iconographic category Parker & Neal documented in their book:
• Narrative and documentary panels — a mola commemorating the Apollo moon landing, one depicting the Panama Canal, and another depicting a helicopter with passengers
• Political commemoratives — commemorating the First Kunayala Congress (the foundational event of modern Guna political autonomy); a Canal Zone contact-era naval vessel; and multiple campaign portraits, and a portrait of President Galindo
• Advertising and brand imagery — a category Parker & Neal were among the first to study seriously, Kool Cigarettes and Pingüino Matches, Cinzano Vermouth, RCA Victor’s “His Master’s Voice”, and Parrot Safety Matches
• Pop-culture panels — Topo Gigio, the Italian television mouse, Antonio Aguilar as Charro, and the Merlion of Singapore
• Religious and syncretic imagery — Cosmological and Biblical Syncretism, the Temptation of Adam and Eve, commemorating Saint Francis of Assisi, dated 1962, and multiple Nativity and Crucifixion panels
• Classic zoomorphic and mythic subjects — twin owls, paired hummingbirds, thunderbird-and-halibut mythic scenes, soulbird panels, caimans, and spirit figures
• Technical and observational molas — three handsaws, three pliers, and crossed pistols
• Botanical and geometric abstraction — labyrinths, stepped-meander grounds, and dense polychrome leaf-lattices

Auction Details
• Date: Saturday, May 16, 2026, 11 AM ET
• Auction is in person in Princeton, NJ and simulcast online
• In-person preview: Friday, May 15, 10 AM – 6 PM
• Facebook Live preview: 5 PM ET, May 15, on the Dana Auctions Facebook page
• Provenance: Every lot documented to the Parker & Neal Collection
• No Hidden Reserves; Shipping is Available

The May 16 auction is Part 1 of multiple planned sales from the Parker & Neal Collection. Subsequent parts will be announced through Dana Auctions’ regular channels.

About Dana Auctions
Dana Auctions, based in Princeton, New Jersey, specializes in antique and vintage textiles, including quilts, lace, and ethnographic textiles. Founded by Dana Balsamo, an AQS Certified Appraiser, and appeared on Antiques Roadshow, the firm is known for its expertise, transparency, and commitment to connecting important material culture with collectors worldwide. Dana Auctions holds Pennsylvania Auctioneer License AU006175 and Kentucky License 278800.
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