Mourning Cape
date: label: Accession Date
content: 18 Oct 1968
name: label: Donor Name
content: Mr. Province M. Henry
notes: label: Notes
content: Collector's notes, written on tag attached to object: Pyuma tribe, Taitung Hsien, Shabakan village, Taiwan (SE Formosa). Mourning cape. This garment is worn over the shoulders during the customary period of mourning following a death in the family. A large and handsome cape, consisting of unraveled Chinese wool yarns (not re-spun into smaller threads as in earlier times.) Embroidered into bold 100 pacer snakeskin designs overall (Trigonocephalus, Agkistrodon acutus-a large and dangerous pit viper common to southern Formosa). Capes like this are rather scarce now [1964] and command a high price on the Japanese market. The figure commonly asked in Taipei as of 1964/5 is often around $100 U.S. The red, yellow, and green Chinese trade wool trin is rather typical of the Pyuma taste…guessed to be ca. late 19th century.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 1 Dec 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Taiwan, China, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Paiwan
label: Culture
content: Puyuma
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 281393
label: USNM Number
content: E410255-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Cape