Piece Of Tapa
date: label: Accession Date
content: 26 Oct 1874
label: Collection Date
content: 1838 to 1842
name: label: Collector
content: Major William Rich
label: Collector
content: United States Exploring Expedition
label: Donor Name
content: Prof Spencer F. Baird
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "15090-8. INVENTORIED 1975."
label: Notes
content: 15090 - 15098 originally catalogued as just Polynesian. An unknown person pencilled in Hawaii? at a later date.
label: Notes
content: "Oiled" tapa. Beater marks clearly visible in a net pattern of diamond shapes of 1 cm x 1 cm running parallel to one another. A deep orange color exists over the entire tapa, with uneven light and dark hues of the same color visible throughout. The orange color is assumed to be from turmeric (Adrienne Kaeppler, communication), or darkening of the oil from aging (Natalie Firnhaber, aging tests of kukui nut oil). The tapa is very thin and even throughout with no evidence of joining one tapa section to another. All edges appear finished. It generally lies flat with slight undulations around the edges. There are occasional areas of dark red/orange tiny dot splatters. Written with black ink on discolored rectangle is: "15090 Polynesia.....Maj Wm. Rich". In pencil written below this is: "Tumeric & Ginger". A small black curl of hair is lightly lodged in the damaged rectangle.
label: Notes
content: NMNH Curator of Oceania, Adrienne Kaeppler confirms the tapa is Hawaiian. (September 2013).
label: Record Last Modified
content: 1 Jul 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Hawaii (Hawaiʻi), United States, Polynesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 74A00057
label: USNM Number
content: E15090-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 384.8 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 87.6 cm