Large 19th C. Tongan Tapa Bark Cloth Christian Motifs

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Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 18, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-03-18 10:00:00 2021-03-18 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/pre-columbian-tribal-oceanic-6520
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• Lot Description
  Pacific Islands, Tonga, ca. 19th century CE. A very large tapa cloth with iconography that demonstrates the influence of the Christian missionaries on the indigenous of Tonga. Notice the doves as well as the eagles and the lions (representing evangelists Mark the lion and John the eagle) as well as pine trees (not native to Tonga), surrounded by the sun, the moon, and the stars. Furthermore, there are registers with repeated coats of arms showing a crown with the Christian Cross at the top amidst two flags, a flying eagle or dove, and a bundle of war clubs. There is also an inscription: KOEOTOA MOTOGAKOHOKU TOFIA. 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. An early testimony to the Christian faith in Tonga, this impressively large piece represents a new phase in the history of tapa making in Tonga, as it is was inspired by the missionaries' sermons and conversions of the Tonga people. Size: 157.75" W x 76" H (400.7 cm x 193 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 Hawaii, USA collection, acquired at Skinners; ex property of a New England Museum
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
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  #154540

  Condition

  Expected wear - some tears, losses, fold marks, separation of fibers, and minor stains - commensurate with age. Mounted on a canvas backing with wood slats at one end.
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