Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0144-0004 | |
| Category | Textiles | |
| Object Name | Kapa skirt | |
| Culture | Polynesian: Hawaiian | |
| Global Region | Oceania | |
| Country | USA | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | Hawaii | |
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | unknown | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | early to mid 1800s | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Mamade (Pipturus albidus) fiber, possibly; Pigments: red dirt (rust brown) and kukui nut shavings mixed with kukui oil (black) | |
| Description | Rectangular kapa cloth made from strips of mulberry bark that have been beaten very smooth and overlapped and then completely dyed yellow; Design field of cloth is bilaterally divided down the center along its long axis, with one half undecorated and the other half stamped with a series of rectangular blocks arranged in a checkerboard pattern; Each stamped block is composed of smaller geometric designs, applied by repeatedly stamping with a narrow bamboo stamp, which allowed for a change in the actual design as well as the color within a design block; There are four different designs, including the kalahale or bent knee design, a set of interlocking Vs in sets of four; Some of the blocks are completely a rust brown color, some are completely black (although largely faded to blue), and some are a combination of the two colors; This kapa cloth is a complete child’s or young woman’s wrap-around skirt, worn with the design along the bottom and the undecorated upper side folded down and over a belt; The degree to which this skirt is decorated suggests that it belonged to someone of high class. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = ca. 103.0, Length = ca. 224.0 | |