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: SINGLE SHEET OF BLACK "MAMAKI" BARK CLOTH, WITH A FINE WATERMARK OF PARALLEL LINES. THE SPECIMEN IS EXTREMELY BRITTLE AND COULD NOT BE UNFOLDED IN ORDER TO MEASURE IT. NO ORIGINAL NUMBER OR CATALOGUE NUMBER APPEARS ON THE PIECE (AS FAR AS CAN BE SEEN), A DETACHED TAG READS, "3527". ANOTHER DETACHED TAG READS, "3527 NATIVE CLOTH SANDWICH ISLS."
label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "3521-533. CAT. 3527, ORIG. 835 CASE 22, TOP. TAPA, LARGE SHEET OF, BLACK TAPA. HAWAII. SMALL SAMPLE TAKEN BY K. P. EMORY, 6/24/41."
label: Notes
content: This tapa was examined while folded into a small rectangular package. Most of the tapa from the U.S. Exploring Expedition were stored in a similar manner. The tapa is constructed from beaten plant fiber. The plant species used may be mamaki (pipturus albidus) but this species has not been confirmed. The tapa is very thinly beaten with fine parallel watermarks. The surface is a uniform dark brown. XRF testing indicates a prominent presence of iron about 10 x Rh. No other embellishments are visible. As of 2012, tapa is extremely fragile and structurally unstable. It appears to be in the same folded bolt as when it was accessioned. The thin tapa exhibits massive shattering with numerous detached pieces and many tears, losses and holes on the visible layers. In its current condition it would be difficult to open and stabilize without causing mechanical damage. From Mamaki Tapa Identification and Deterioration by Annemette Scharff, Master Thesis School of Conservation Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1996. Page 3 of appendix has a summary of tapa E3527, "this looks like a tapa that has been dyed with kukui and immersed in the mud of a taro swamp. Fibers belong to the genus Pipturus. Broussonetia fibers are also observed but no detailed analyses of fibers have been done". Pages 107-111 discuss elements present in the tapa and possible mechanisms of deterioration. Scharff concludes that iron and titanium are the primary mechanisms of deterioration with a correlation between the water soluble oxalate presence and the iron content in the tapa with high oxalate content present on deteriorated tapa.
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: E3527-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 22 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 63 cm
label: Height - Object
content: 3 cm