Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 1993-0004-0001 | |
| Category | Textiles | |
| Object Name | Tapa cloth | |
| Culture | Polynesian: Samoan | |
| Global Region | Oceania | |
| Country | Samoa | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | American Samoa | |
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | unknown | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 1930s to 1950s | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Paper mulberry bark; Native dyes (derived from 'o'a [Bischofia javanica] sap mixed with charcoal or from lama [candlenut tree, Aleurites moluccana] kernels) | |
| Description | Rectangular tapa cloth made from strips of mulberry bark that have been beaten into thin strips, which were then overlapped to form a larger cloth; Cloth has been laid over wooden design tablet and stamped 5 times with geometric register or panel that runs the width of the cloth and forms a overall design network of diamonds that are filled in with additional geometric motifs, all visible on the reverse; Stamped designs were then over-painted on front face of cloth in freehand technique, emphasizing some of the original motifs and also adding new ones, while still maintaining the overall diamond network; Stamped designs are done in a pale brown color and hand painted designs are in a darker brown color; Cloth has all four original edges. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = 122.0, Length = 190.0 | |