Bag

This is a woven bag from the islands of Santa Cruz in the Solomon Islands. Its design features include tassels, a plaited handle and black bands of geometric patterns that are distinctive to other woven bags from this island group.

Construction

The bag is woven from fine strands of banana plant fibre. Weavers source the fibres from the bracts of a banana tree that usually grow along the palm.  They collect the pieces and beat them to a pulp with a wooden beater and then wipe them clean before hanging the fibres up to dry in the sun. Once the fibres are dry, the weaver combs them and ties them together to form one long length of textile that they can then work with by hand or loom. This bag's fine weave suggests that a loom was used in its manufacture.

Significance

This bag is significant as an example of the types of keepsakes that New Zealanders and other visitors to the Pacific collected during their travels. The bag was probably one of many produced specifically for the tourist market as transportation routes improved in the Pacific and access to buyers and enthusiastic tourists became more frequent.The bag is an example of the specific Santa Cruz techniques and materials in bag and basket making that are distinct from other island populations that also plait these items from pandanus, hibiscus fibre and cane. At the time this bag was acquired by Te Papa, the techniques utilised in this type of bag making were extremely rare as western made cloth was more popular and the practise of loom weaving had dramatically decreased.

Acquisition History

This bag was given to Lesley Askew by her Great Aunt Margaret Dallas. Margaret and her sister undertook a lot of travelling by sea between 1920 and 1940 including trips to Hawaii and Alaska. It was during one of these trips that this bag is thought to have been collected. Lesley Askew donated the bag to Te Papa Tongarewa in 2014.

References

Bolton, L. (2012).  Part Three Island Melanesia 1700-1940: Transformations 1890-1940 in Brunt, P., Thomas, N., Mallon, S., Bolton, L., Brown, D., Skinner, D. & Kuchler, S. Art in Oceania: A New History (pp. 218-243). London: Thames and Hudson