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Unknown Maker, Polynesian

Tapa (bark cloth) fragment

Maker

Culture

Polynesian, Samoan, Tongan

Title

Tapa (bark cloth) fragment

Year

1800s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

bark

Geography

Place Made: Hawaiian Islands

Dimensions

38.1 x 16.5 cm (15 x 6 1/2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Brown University

Object Number

22.065

Type

Textiles

Exhibition History

Cloth Without Weaving

Beaten Barkcloth of the Pacific Islands

Nov 01, 2000 – Feb 18, 2001

Label copy

The hand-painted comb design on this cut fragment demonstrates a high level of skill in the manipulation of detailed motifs. The dark, resinous pattern of the borders is most likely the result of a combination of paint and charcoal. Extra shine could be obtained with the glaze derived from the toga plant.

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Polynesian

Tapa (bark cloth) fragment, 1800s

Paper mulberry (Broussonetia Papyrifera), pigment; processed inner tree bark

38.1 x 16.5 cm (15 x 6 1/2 inches)

Gift of Brown University 22.065

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