Traditional Tapa Textiles of the Pacific - Softcover

Neich, Roger; Pendergrast, Mick; Pfeiffer, Krzysztof

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500279896 ISBN 13: 9780500279892

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1999

Synopsis

The manufacture of tapa cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, is one of the most intriguing products of the cultures of the Pacific islands. In several parts of Melanesia from New Guinea to Vanuatu, in Fiji, and on most of the high islands of Polynesia from Hawaii to Tahiti, the Marquesas, Tonga, Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand, making barkcloth is an ancient craft that has been practiced for thousands of years. Traditional Tapa Textiles of the Pacific presents a complete range of the ancient art of tapa, from cloth brought back from the first European voyages to the Pacific to contemporary examples. The origins, materials, and manufacturing techniques are described, as well as tapa's cultural context and uses in weddings, funerals, clothing, dance, and ornament. With more than two hundred color illustrations, many published for the first time, this book is a comprehensive survey of this distinctive branch of Pacific art.

About this title

About the Author:

Roger Neich is Curator of Ethnology at Auckland Museum, which houses the largest collection of tapa in the world. He has studied the ethnic arts of the Pacific for over twenty years, and published numerous works on the subject. Mick Pendergrast of Auckland Museum has spent over forty years traveling through Polynesia and is an expert on crafts of the Pacific and New Zealand.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0500279896
• ISBN 13: 9780500279892
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160