Bark Cloth, Colored
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: 2 pieces. ONE PIECE WITH THIS NUMBER IS VERY SIMILAR TO ANOTHER LARGE BARKCLOTH, WHICH IS IN EQUALLY BAD CONDITION, BUT WHICH HAS THE NUMBER 4389 (AND IS ID AS SAMOA) - THEY MAY ACTUALLY BE FROM THE SAME PIECE.
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: Currently in two long pieces. A longer section measuring 374 cm x 56 cm and a slightly shorter section measuring 359 cm x 64 cm. Measurements are approximate due to ragged edges. Tapa is quite thin overall with overlapping seams (approx. 5 cm wide) joining together many smaller secrtions of varying size. The longer section has a cream to light brown background with medium brown patterns making diagonal lines, curved leaf-like shapes and dotted lines. Wider an darker brown liens, perpendicular to the long edges, divide the pattern into sections. There are also parts of dark brown and black circles (7 cm diameter) interspersed along the torn edge. Along the extremity of the torn edge are remnants of a dense, dark red and black repeating cross-hatch and horizontal line pattern. This pattern is also on the extreme outer edge of the shorter section's torn side. The shorter section consists of mostly a black pigment creating a dense negative space pattern (crosses, diamonds, triangles, dots and lines) with sections of bold, dark red diagonal lines and cross hatching running parallel to the long edge. The long torn edge generally matches the pattern on the torn edge of the longer section although no exact match has been made to make lining up of the two pieces possible. The other long edge is dark cream in color with some fringe remaining where it has not been broken off. Records indicate that both sections are believed to be part of larger piece although it is not possible to determine where exactly they would join. Curator for Oceania Ethnology Adrienne Kaeppler concurs with this. The pattern appears to overlap along one long edge of each section. One piece is longer than the other, which according to Kaeppler, is not necessarily indicative of original size. Kaeppler believes it likely that there are pieces missing at the ends due to the lack of a usual edge design.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
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: E4393-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Larger Piece
content: 374 cm
label: Width - Larger Piece
content: 56 cm
label: Length - Smaller Piece
content: 359 cm
label: Width - Smaller Piece
content: 64 cm