Artist:
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Artist Unknown
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Title:
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Tapa Cloth
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Date:
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1800-1825
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Medium:
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Bark, pigment
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Dimensions:
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30 13/16 x 62 in. (78.26 x 157.48 cm)
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Credit Line:
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The Paul C. Johnson, Jr. Fund
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Location:
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Gallery 256
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Barkcloth (tapa) was made throughout Oceania and used in the same context as woven fabric. To make the cloth, the inner bark of a mulberry tree was harvested, soaked, and beaten with a short club.
Historically, bold hand-painted patterns were common on Hawaiian tapa, but by the nineteenth century decoration had moved toward smaller, more elaborate designs. New metal tools, introduced after Euro-American contact, made it possible for Hawaiian artists to create intricate bamboo dye stamps. The artist of this barkcloth arranged hundreds of individual impressions in a linear pattern around the border of the cloth.
Object Description
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Inscriptions:
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Classification:
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Textiles
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Physical Description:
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triangular fragment decorated with rust-red and dark brown geometric stamps in 4 repeated rows on 2 sides; beige ground
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Creation Place:
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Oceania, United States, , Hawaii,
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Accession #:
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2000.25.2
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Owner:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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