**Originally Listed At $250**

Southwest Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Oro Province, ca. 1970 CE. A stunning tapa cloth presenting multiple decorative sinuous bands surrounded by upper and lower linear borders, all rendered in a vibrant color palette of russet red with dotted black borders on the natural beige ground. Tapa cloths are still used today for ceremonial occasions - sometimes made into clothing and masks for dances or offerings for marriages and funerals - as well as impressive wall decorations. This example is particularly impressive for its size and painstakingly executed decorative program created in a style that originated in the Oro Province. Size: 46.5" L x 29.75" W (118.1 cm x 75.6 cm)

According to the curatorial staff at Harvard University's Peabody Museum: "For hundreds of years, tapamaking was one of the most sophisticated plant-fiber technologies in the Pacific Islands. In the eighteenth century and before, tapa served as both daily and ceremonial clothing. It was made into headdresses, turbans, loincloths, sashes, girdles, skirts, and ponchos. The cloth was used for bedcovers, wall dividers, or mosquito curtains as well as for special wrappings of staff gods, for the outer layer of sculptures, for wrapping skulls, and for masks. Individuals were surrounded by tapa at birth, weddings, and death. Special cloths were made for dowries, diplomatic gifts, and treaty agreements. Large-scale accumulation of tapa signified wealth and aided in achieving status. It was also used to pay tribute. Barkcloth material, partially processed or as undecorated sheets, was an important trade item and was exchanged for plaited mats, adzes, whaleteeth, and sandalwood. Eventually, the increased availability of woven cotton cloth made in Asia and Europe led to a significant decline of hand-produced tapa, altered its use, and encouraged further changes in the ways in which tapa was decorated."

Provenance: private Salt Lke City Collection, Salt Lake City, Utah, acquired 1980s

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#138368

Some fold marks and creases. A few minute perforations. Several small patches on verso indicative of repairs/stabilization; however, these are virtually impossible to see on the front of the tapa cloth. Otherwise, a very nice example with strong decorative motifs and vibrant hues.