Skip to main content
Object Number
96-25-70/49498.1
Display Title
Tapa cloth
Descriptions
Object Description
Tapa cloth. Moderately thin, nearly square cloth made of pounded off-white inner bark. The cloth is composed of two evenly pounded sheets that are joined together by means of pasting; the paste yields a relatively stiff hand. The two sheets have perpendicular grain directions which are then cut to provide straight and even edges. Pigments have been applied on the surface of the cloth. The first pigment is in reddish brown and is composed of repetitive curve, zig-zag and straight lines applied by rubbing from a relief design tablet. The design is further emphasized with handpainted thick brownish-black lines creating squares and rectangles with corners connected by diagonal lines. There are no apparent beater pattern. Identifying numbers: Peabody Museum catalogue number in pink has been applied to the reverse of one corner edge.
Inventory Description
Tapa cloth, rectangular, painted black geometric design
Classification
- Tapa
Department
Ethnographic
Geography/Provenience/Site Name
Oceania
/
Samoa
Materials
Bark, Pigment, Inner bark fiber
Dimensions
Overall: 179 x 165 cm (70 1/2 x 64 15/16 in.)
Quantity
1
Provenance
Collector
Alexander Agassiz
Important Note about Historical Language
Collections records may contain language, reflecting past collecting practices and methods of analysis, that is no longer acceptable. The Peabody Museum is committed to addressing the problem of offensive and discriminatory language present in its database. Our museum staff are continually updating these records, adding to and improving content. We welcome your feedback and any questions or concerns you may want to share. Please email us with your comments.
| PrimaryMedia | Object Number | Title | Classification | Geography/Provenience | SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36-45-70/336 | Piece of brown tapa cloth |
Tapa
|
Samoa
| |
| 18-2-70/D1102 | Tapa cloth |
Tapa
|
Samoa?
| |
| 11-2-70/83961 | Hand-painted tapa, Hiapo |
Tapa
|
Niue
| |
| 11-2-70/83931 | Tapa cloth |
Tapa
|
Samoa
| |
| 88-51-70/51524 | Tapa cloth |
Tapa
|
Samoa
Tonga | |
| 80-24-70/23087.2 | Tapa |
Tapa
|
Hawaii
| |
| 999-18-70/5804 | Bark cloth, Samoan siapo |
Tapa
|
Oceania
| |
| 71-8-70/2899 | Small kapa cloth sample |
Tapa
|
Hawaii
| |
| 44-20-70/2266 | Round piece of tapa cloth |
Tapa
|
Samoa
| |
| 56-5-70/3773 | Large piece of tapa cloth |
Tapa
|
Samoa
| |
| 99-15-70/53890 | Piece of unfinished tapa |
Tapa
|
Samoa
| |
| 34-137-70/299 | Piece of tapa cloth |
Tapa
|
Niaufo'ou (Tin Can Island)
|