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1884.87.96

Specimen of barkcloth. It is brown in colour with a dense texture, square on two sides, uneven on the other two sides. [AF [OPS move] 25/8/2017]

1884.87.96

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Collection type
Object
Description
Specimen of barkcloth. It is brown in colour with a dense texture, square on two sides, uneven on the other two sides. [AF [OPS move] 25/8/2017]
Date / Period
Date made: Before 21/12/1825
Date collected
Between 5 and 21 December 1825
Acquisition information
Donated: 1884
Materials and processes
Material Bark Cloth Textile Plant, Process Beaten
Dimensions
Width: max 661 mm, Length: max 815 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1884.87.96
Research and responses

For an account of Pitcairn barkcloth, see Pitcairn Tapa: 'Ahu no Hitiaurevareva, by Pauline Reynolds (Huahine: 'Ana'ana Publishing, 2008). (Copy in Balfour Library.)[JC 3 3 2015]

The PRM's collection of barkcloth from Pitcairn was examined by Pauline Reynolds on 28 September 2010. For a brief account of her visit, see pages 15-16 of her report to The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia (copy in RDF: Researchers: Reynolds). This barkcloth is number 4 on her list: 'Aute dyed brown/reddish 65 x 70 cm cut from a larger piece extremely fine make probably used as pareu (sarong) the dye making it more hardy for wearing.' [JC 19 2 2015]

Associated publications
Illustrated in colour (author's photograph) as Figure 3 on page 372 of 'Pitcairn Tapa: Discovering the Past through Tapa', by Pauline Reynolds, in Michel Charleux et al., Tapa—de l'écorce à l'étoffe, art millénaire d'Océanie de l'Asie du Sud-Est à la Polynésie orientale / Tapa—From Tree Bark to Cloth: An Ancient Art of Oceania from Southeast Asia to Eastern Polynesia, Paris: Somogy éditions de l'art; Tahiti: Association TAPA, pp. 370–74. Caption (same page): 'Dyed tapa, courtesy of Pitt Rivers Museum, ref. PRM1884.87.96'. Also referred to on page 373: 'On Pitcairn, a red-brown dye was produced from the candlenut - this also giving the added bonus of strength and waterproofing. An example of this is at the Pitt Rivers Museum, and it appears to have originally been part of a large piece, likely a pareu'. [JC 28 7 2018]

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