Unknown Maker

Textile fragment

Maker

Unknown Maker

Title

Textile fragment

Year

1800s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

bark

Geography

Place Made: Sandwich Islands

Dimensions

Length: 47 cm (18 1/2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Lillian M. Potter

Object Number

91.011

Type

Exhibition History

Cloth Without Weaving
Beaten Barkcloth of the Pacific Islands
Nov 01, 2000 – Feb 18, 2001

Label copy

In 1778, Captain Cook wrote in his journal, "One would suppose that they had borrowed their patterns from some mercer's shop in which the most elegant productions of China and Europe are collected, being some patterns of their own... The regularity of the figures and stripes is truly surprising." Carved multipronged stamps, known as lapa, have been used to apply paint to the cloth. By varying their configuration and using only one paint color, the maker has made diamonds and stripes into a composition with overall visual coherence.

Image use

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Tombstone

Unknown Maker
Textile fragment, 1800s
Beaten and fermented bark fiber, stamping
Length: 47 cm (18 1/2 inches)
Gift of Lillian M. Potter 91.011

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