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: LARGE PIECE OF VERY FINE OILED REDDISH BARK CLOTH, PARTIALLY DECORATED WITH RED LINES OF VARYING WIDTHS, AND LARGE AREAS OF BLACK PARALLEL LINES OF VARYING WIDTHS WHICH ARE INTERSECTED BY NARROWER BLACK LINES FORMING A CHECKED PATTERN. THE BARK CLOTH WAS TOO BRITTLE TO UNFOLD, THEREFORE THE MEASUREMENTS ARE APPROXIMATE. AN ATTACHED TAG READS, "3602 - 836".
label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "FINE PIECE. RED AND BLACK. (THIS INFORMATION GIVEN BY K. P. EMORY, BISHOP MUSEUM, 6/24/41.)"
label: Notes
content: Per Erhardt, W. D. and N. Firnhaber. "Analysis and Identification of Oils in Hawaiian Oiled Tapa." In Recent Advances in the Conservation and Analysis of Artifacts. Ed: James Black, London: University of London, Summer School Press, 1987, pp. 223 - 227, the oils on this tapa were most likely derived from the kukui nut.
label: Notes
content: Tapa is a long narrow rectangle, that is divided into two main decorative fields running lengthwise. One side consists of a 31 cm wide pattern made of regular parallel horizontal black lines (5 mm) crossed perpendicularly by narrower vertical lines (2 mm). It is applied on what appear to be a golden reddish background, which made us suspect the presence of oil as a binder in the black color, the latter probably being a black carbon pigment. Opposite side consists of parallel vertical lines made of two lighter colored pinkish-red lines, alternating with two strong pink-red lines on a pink-orange background. Both decorative pattterns are very regular and were probably traced with "rulers" or "liners". There are narrow borders at the short ends. On one well preserved edge, another decorative pattern can be seen. It is a black "checked pattern" on one half, and the other half unembellished (8.5 cm wide). At the opposite end only part of the pattern is visible, as the other part is a missing area (replaced during conservation, proving to be a black decorative pattern showing parallel lines with in between alternated directions of four other parallel lines diagonally oriented - 9 cm wide).
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Hawaii (Hawaiʻi), United States, Polynesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Hawaiian (Kanaka ʻŌiwi, Kanaka Maoli)
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: E3602-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 321 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 63 cm