Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 2011-0004-0002 | |
| Category | Textiles | |
| Object Name | Tapa cloth | |
| Culture | Polynesian: Tongan | |
| Global Region | Oceania | |
| Country | Tonga | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | unknown | |
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | unknown | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 1984 | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Mulberry bark; Dyes | |
| Description | Section of large tapa cloth measuring 5 langanga (unit of hand measurement equal to distance from elbow to finger tips) that is made from strips of mulberry bark that have been pounded into thin sheets that have then been overlapped to form an even larger cloth sheet; This section has been cut with a scissors along all four edges, but still includes the original side borders that are marked with the langanga marks of 1 through 5, indicating it has been cut from a much larger tapa cloth; The design field is divided into rectangular blocks, with two blocks covering the entire width of the cloth; Similar blocks are designated across each langanga unit, and each block contains the same motifs: a central kalauni (Tongan royal crown), flanked by 3 (feitu’u (stars) and a crescent on one side and three heleta (swords representing battles fought to unite the islands of the Tongan kingdom) on the other; A small banner with the words “KOE KALAUNI†is also shown beneath each heleta; Inside the numbered borders and extending up the entire length of the cloth is a geometric border that includes the manulua motif (an ancient chiefly motif also known as the “vane swastikaâ€) consisting of a pinwheel like pattern of small triangles, and three large dark brown dots representing the fruits of the hea tree; Same geometric border is also painted down the center of the cloth, separating the two rectangular design blocks in each langanga row. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = ca. 259.0, Length = ca. 430.0 | |