Bark Cloth
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1858
label: Collection Date
content: 1838 to 1842
name: label: Collector
content: Lt. Augustus L. Case
label: Donor Name
content: United States Exploring Expedition
notes: label: Notes
content: SINGLE PIECE OF REDDISH BARK CLOTH WITH DARKER RED HORIZONTAL STRIPES OF VARYING WIDTHS. THE BORDER IS VERTICALLY STRIPED. THIS PIECE IS VERY FINE AND HAS NO APPARENT WATERMARK. HAS ORIGINAL PEALE TAG; ALSO A TAG ACCORDING TO OLD CATALOGUE CARD READS, "A. LUDLOW CASE AS PER SAMPLE NO. 35, VINCENS EXPD.". LENT TO THE DIVISION OF CIVIL HISTORY, N.M.A.H., 1967, RETURNED 1974. EXAMINED AND SAMPLED BY KENNETH P. EMORY, BISHOP MUSEUM, JUNE 1941, WHO IDENTIFIED THIS AS A "TAPA MALO [MAN'S LOINCLOTH] OR KILT."
label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "3600-10. CAT. 3606, ORIG. 820. NARROW (M.C.) TAPA, MALO OR KILT, 22" X 7'6". REDDISH, DIAGONAL STRIPES OF VARIOUS WIDTHS. ORIG. LABEL: "A LUDLOW CASE AS PER SAMPLE NO. 35, VINCENS EXPD." SMALL SAMPLE TAKEN BY K. EMORY, 6/24/41." FROM CARD: "TAPA, MALO OR KILT, REDDISH, DIAGONAL STRIPES OF VARIOUS WIDTHS. ORIG. LABEL: "A LUDLOW CASE AS PER SAMPLE NO. 35, VINCENS EXPD." (PER K.P. EMORY, 6/24/41). SMALL SAMPLE TAKEN BY K. EMORY, 6/24/41. 3/9/67: LOANED TO CIVIL HIST. 3/8/74: RETURNED FROM CIVIL HISTORY. INVENTORIED 1975."
label: Notes
content: Narrow rectangular tapa constructed from thinly beaten tapa, probably inner bark of paper mulberry (wauke). There is no visible seam in the construction and the tapa was likely made by beating sections of tapa together to form a thin flexible sheet. Tapa has small overall voids (puka) that appear to be from manufacture. Tapa has overall pinkish/red coloration. One side is embellished with repeating parallel lines in a slightly darker pink/red running across the width of the tapa. These narrow lines run in a pattern of darker lines with four thinner lines between them. At the ends of the tapa are borders about 2.5 inches wide with the same lines running in a perpendicular direction. Moana Eisele (Hawaiian kapa/tapa maker) examined the tapa and thought that the tapa may be a kihei (shawl) and that the darker lines, both narrow and wider, are dyed on a natural background. Bernice Akamine (Hawaiian kapa/tapa maker, dye maker, artist) thinks that the darker lines are applied on top of the lighter background. The dye appeared similar to the red earth pigment, Alaea, but portable radiography indicates a very low presence of iron. This indicates that the dye used was likely plant based, possibly Noni.
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
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: E3606-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 243 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 61 cm