“Flor de la Selva” — Hösig Di Basket by Julia Jingimia
Delicate yet powerful, Flor de la Selva is a masterful hösig di basket woven by Wounaan artist Julia Jingimia of Panama. Over the course of approximately six months, she brought this vessel to life using silk-fine strands of chunga palm, stitched with extraordinary precision over a coiled base of naguala fiber. The deep black background is naturally dyed, setting the stage for the luminous pictorial motif—a ring of rainforest flowers blooming in yellow, violet, and green.
These fine pictorial designs are known as natura among the Wounaan, as they are inspired by the living beauty of the Darién rainforest. In this piece, the flower forms rise like a quiet crown, a celebration of the forest’s vitality and the weaver’s intimate relationship with her environment.
Meticulously crafted, richly symbolic, and visually striking, Flor de la Selva is both an exceptional example of traditional coil weaving and a living story of place, identity, and time.
Details:
- Dimensions: 9" W x 10" H
- Origin: Handwoven in Panama
- Artisan: Julia Jingimia, Wounaan weaver
- Materials: Chunga (black palm), naguala palm coil, vegetal dyes
- Technique: Hösig di (traditional Wounaan coiled basketry)
- Motif Type: Natura (rainforest-inspired pictorial designs)
- Time to Create: Approximately 6 months
- Uniqueness: One of a kind
Wounaan Rainforest Baskets gain their inspiration from the nature that surrounds them and the geometric patterns of pre-Colombian body painting. The talented women who weave these baskets often incorporate ancient pottery designs and renditions of exotic plant and animal life surrounding them in the Darién rainforest.
Using needles to sew only the supplest of fibers from the native Werregue palm (also called Chunga) and Naguala palms, each basket can take months, or even years, to complete. The pieces reflect an impressive range of colors, stemming from the natural hues of local seeds, roots, berries, fruits, flowers, leaves and other native flora. Learn more.
Stitched over many months and years from natural fibers and organic dyes, your handmade woven art should be displayed proudly, away from any windows and skylights. The ultra-violet rays of direct sun and strong light can cause the saturated natural dyes in textile and fiber art to fade, and can even damage the fibers themselves.
If your woven art resides with you in the desert or other dry environments, you may feel better occasionally misting it (as often done to wicker or rattan) inside with distilled or non-chlorinated tap water. Using a paper towel, gently pat any excess moisture from the interior.
From the most diminutive baskets, scarcely larger than a thimble, to magnificent creations spanning three feet in width, painstakingly crafted over the course of eight years, RFB proudly imports an expansive range of woven masterpieces.
In collaboration with our esteemed local partners, we undertake extensive journeys to personally engage with weavers. These voyages involve meticulous inspections of works in progress, as well as the evaluation of recently finished pieces prepared for shipment.
also known as
Rainforest Baskets, from the Darien
months and years to create
Revered works of art
traditional techniques
