Bark Cloth, "Masi"
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: FROM CARD: "POOR CONDITION, BUT FINE PIECE. (SPECIMEN BEARING THIS NUMBER WAS LOCATED BY MR. K. P. EMORY, BISHOP MUSEUM, WHO GAVE US THIS INFORMATION.) 6/24/41." OLD LABEL SAYS, "TEN PIECES OF TAPA - FIJI." LONG, NARROW, WHITE UNDECORATED PIECE OF BARK CLOTH, HAS NOTE INSIDE OF FOLDS WHICH READS "TEN PIECES, MWD."
label: Notes
content: Peale catalogue identifies # 1457 - 1464: "Cloth made of bark, preparatory to being printed."
label: Notes
content: The long, narrow undecorated bark cloth is rectangular with straight edges and is of relatively uniform width along its length. It is of fairly uniform thickness. It is made of multiple layers, with three sections attached with an overlapping seam. Traditionally arrowroot would have been used to hold the seamed sections together, per Adrienne Kaeppler, Curator for Oceania Ethnology. The three sections are approximately 220, 220 and 250 cm long. There may have been long fringes on both ends of the bark cloth but they are now missing. It appears to be complete at one end and has a very ragged diagonal torn edge at the other end. There are no beater marks or embellishments. According to Adrienne Kaeppler, this type of bark cloth would remain undecorated and used as clothing as it is. It would be wrapped around the upper body, then between the legs and drawn up in the back and the remainder would hang down in the back.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
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: E3624-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 680 cm
label: Minimum Width - Object
content: 43 cm
label: Maximum Width - Object
content: 55 cm
label: Length - Object
content: 690 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 45 cm