Large Tapa Or Bark Cloth
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: Peale catalogue identifies # 1435 - 1456 as "Ngatu." Bark cloth prepared for curtains by the natives of the Fiji Islands." Addendum in catalogue notes that "1455 has charms attached to keep off evil spirits."
label: Notes
content: The tapa "tent" is constructed from a single large sheet of tapa that has been folded in half and stitched closed alogn the sides to create a bag like structure. The tapa is folded along one long side and seamed along the two short sides. One long side is open. The sides have been seamed with a running stitch of a flat, stiff, yellow, plant fiber, approximately 1/8th inch in diameter, like Pandanus. It appears that the seamed edge was folded over during manufacture creating a sharp edged fold. The long folded edge has a more complex pleated fold with an accordion like structure. The tapa "tent" is constructed from smaller rectangular sections that have been seamed together to form the one large sheet. For this description, the folded edge is the top edge and the open edge is the bottom. Side A has the catalog number on the exterior and the design field has a central vertical panel flanked by four large rectangular divisions while side B has the central vertical panel flanked by single rectangular divisions. The tapa is completely covered with applied designs on both sides using a black and reddish brown colorant. The colorant has a glossy surface. The designs appear to be partially applied with stenciling. The designs on both sides are similar but not the same. On side A the design field consists of four large rectangles separated by vertical panels of small staggered rectangles. Each of the four rectangles is subdivided by diagonal lines forming an "X". The triangular fields created by this division are filled with fine linear patterning in a chevron design running parallel to the sides of each triangle. Two opposing triangles in each rectangle have single wide bands of black and red both with white circular repeating stencils. On side B the design field is very similar to side A but consists of two large rectangles separated by vertical panels of rectangles filled with smaller rectangles. A length of brown, three strand braided sennit? cordage runs along the interior long fold and extends through the tapa at both corners where it is knotted into the corners of the tapa. At one corner it extends for 70 inches and appears complete with a finished end. At the other corner it extends for 22 inches and appears partial with a frayed end. There are also two short lengths of knotted cordage found in the tapa near the center that may have been used to hold a tag or for bundling. As of 2012, no Peale label was located on the tapa.
label: Notes
content: This object is stored rolled.
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: E4661-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 264 cm