Tapa Or Bark Cloth
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1858
label: Collection Date
content: 1838 to 1842
name: label: Donor Name
content: United States Exploring Expedition
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "3268-74. 3274, TAPA. #WRITTEN ON FRONT GENERAL CONTOUR CONSERVATION TREATMENT 3/79. ROLLED."
label: Notes
content: Peale catalogue identifies # 1435 - 1456 as "Ngatu." Bark cloth prepared for curtains by the natives of the Fiji Islands."
label: Notes
content: Tapa is rectangular in shape. It is quite thin overall and is made from a single layer except where joined. Tapa in its current form is assembled from 10 sections with overlapping seams approximately 5 cm in width. Tapa has a dense design on one side with fringe on two of the sides indicating that the tapa has been cut from a larger piece. Judging from the design it appears that the existing item is approximately half the size of the original. Design is made with black and dark red pigments. Bold, solid and decorated lines create large squares and triangles. The space in between is filled with numerous, dense patterns consisting of lines, star bursts, abstract figures, triangles, diamonds and circles.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Fiji, Melanesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Fijian
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 66A00050
label: USNM Number
content: E3274-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 272 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 155 cm