Mola Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive)

Mola is the Cuna Indian word for an intricate reverse-appliqué needlework technique unique to this unusual, isolated tribe inhabiting the San Blas islands off the Atlantic coast of Panama. These 45 folk-style designs signify themes ancient and modern: pre-Christian crosses, animals, birds, abstracts, and more. Captions identify the motifs and give Cuna names.