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Object Number 90-17-70/48433.6
Display Title Tapa
Descriptions
Indigenous Term Tapa or Kapa
Object Description Light brown colored single-layer tapa cloth of moderate thinness with an uneven beater pattern. The beater pattern is generally vertical with diagonal variations. There are areas of possible felted overlap where the diagonal beater marks intersect and take on a herringbone appearance. No pasted or overlapping joins are present. The edge finish seems to be the natural edge from production, and there are no further decorative elements. Since the cloth is very plain and it arrived in the lab in a rectangular bundle, this may have been a cloth intended for wrapping objects as a packing material.
Inventory Description Tapa, rectangular, buff with ridged texture, torn and degraded, 50+ pieces
Classification
  • Tapa
Department Ethnographic
Culture
  • Hawaiian
Geography/Provenience/Site Name
Oceania / United States / Hawaii
Dimensions Overall: 292 x 223 cm (114 15/16 x 87 13/16 in.)
Quantity 50+
Label on object 90-17-70/48433.6
Provenance
Donor American Antiquarian Society

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