Piece Of Brown Tapa, Oiled
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: "PROF. BAIRD MADE AN EARLY COLLECTION OF MISC. TAPA. FIGURED BY H. W. KRIEGER, DESIGN AREAS IN OCEANIA. (ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GIVEN BY K. P. EMORY, BISHOP MUSEUM, 6/24/41) INVENTORIED 1975."
label: Notes
content: 4 layers stitched/tied together. Skirt? Reddish dye, turning yellow unevenly. 5 stamp designs on top layer. No watermark. Very brittle.
label: Notes
content: Dr. Adrienne Kaeppler identifies this as of Hawaiian manufacture.
label: Notes
content: This Hawaiian pa'u tapa is rectangular in shape and is made up of four separate layers attached along one edge. The layers are attached, using cords made from lengths of rolled tapa, at eight more or less evenly spaced locations along the top edge. All four layers are approximately the same reddish/orange color and all layers appear to have had an unknown oil evenly applied. There are thin yellow areas which occur where there are folds. Approximately half of the areas along the outside, unbound edges, are a darker shade of red to almost black. The tapa layers are thin and still fairly flexible. All layers are shear, not showing any beater marks. There is also no evidence of overlapping sections making it appear to be manufactured from a single piece of tapa. The front panel is the only one with decoration. A black pigment was used throughout creating patterns with the use of carved bamboo stamps. The stamps were used to create a dense pattern which forms two strips (14 mm to 16 mm wide) which run along the short edges. Interspersed through the tapa are small groupings of 3 wavy, parallel lines. There are also random black smudges of pigment. There is a large area which has been cut out of the front, decorated panel. The cutout measures approximately 35 cm x 34 cm. Seven small (5 mm) dark yellow seeds were found sandwiched between the third and fourth panels. They were removed and placed with other unreplaceable fragments in Anthropology Conservation Lab treatment report file.
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: E15081-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Width - Object
content: 430 cm
label: Length - Object
content: 100 cm