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Unknown Maker, Polynesian

Tapa (bark cloth) fragment

Maker

Unknown Maker, Polynesian

Culture

Polynesian, Samoan, Tongan

Title

Tapa (bark cloth) fragment

Year

1800s

Medium

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

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

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

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

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain 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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Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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