item details
Overview
This rectangular piece of thin, off-white tapa has one long edge which has been folded and hand hemmed with cotton thread, probably by the donors. The entire surface, except for a narrow plain border on one short edge, is decorated with hand-drawn black lines. The pattern has been infilled and highlighted with brown lines, which are now faded. The surface is divided into three panels by rows of three or four narrow black lines. Each panel is subdivided into smaller fields by further horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, and the small fields contain outlined rectangles, triangles, and irregular geometric forms. The dividing lines are sometimes infilled with dots, small diagonal lines or, in one case, open triangles surrounded by black infill.
A wrap-around skirt
In Papua New Guinea, women wore tapa such as this and sheets of tapa were presented at marriage ceremonies.
Acquisition
This tapa cloth was gifted to Mr Kedgley on a visit to Popondetta in 1967. He was at the time Registrar at the University of Papua New Guinea, which opened in 1965. It was gifted to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa by Barbara and Ted Kedgley in 1998.