What are the designs on the tapa inspired by?
While viewing tapa designs, point out the artists’ use of symmetry and repeated motifs to create patterns with shapes based on natural objects (e.g. fish and plants). Discuss the influence that the artists’ environment may have had on their choice of materials and colors.
What is a Fijian Masi made of?
In Fiji, the term Masi refers to decorated cloth made from tree bark, a traditional art form found across many island nations of the Pacific. (The material has different names in different locales, including tapa in Tahiti and the Cook Islands, ngatu in Tonga, siapo in Samoa, and kapa in Hawaii.)
What is masi cloth?
Masi or tapa is a traditional material which is made by the inhabitants of many of the islands in the Pacific region. This material is made from the bark of the young mulberry tree, which is soaked in water, beaten with mallets and formed into sheets.
What is a Fijian Masi?
Masi, also known as barkcloth, is a textile made by women in Fiji using bark fibers. An important and traditional art form, Fijian masi is famous for its beautiful craftwork and designs. First the inner bark is removed from the paper mulberry tree. The bark strips are soaked in water for a few days until they are soft.
Who made the hiapo?
Overview. This hiapo is a form of decorated barkcloth from Niue. Little is known of pre-nineteenth-century forms of Niuean cloth, but we do know that in the 1830s, Samoan methods of making barkcloth were introduced to Niue by Samoan missionaries.
What is a Siapo?
Siapo is the Samoan word for a fine cloth made from the bark of the Paper Mulberry tree. In Fiji, this linen-like barkcloth is called Masi, in Tonga it’s Ngatu.
What is a Tongan tapa?
Its rhythmic sounds of women making Tapa is heard from morning till night, throughout the villages. It is a traditional art form whereby the inner bark of certain trees is softened and pounded into sheets of cloth, then bound together using natural starches such as root crop.
What is TAPA used for?
The most important traditional uses for tapa were for clothing, bedding and wall hangings. Textiles were often specially prepared and decorated for people of rank. Tapa was ceremonially displayed on special occasions, such as birthdays and weddings. In sacred contexts, tapa was used to wrap images of deities.
What is tapa worth?
It is highly ornamented with polychrome designs rich in imagery. Though there are fewer collectors for Amazonian works, Mr. Steele’s tapa prices range from $3,500 to $20,000.
Who made tapa cloth?
The Polynesian tapa tradition likely originated from the Lapita people who explored the Pacific roughly three thousand years ago. Art historians and anthropologists have argued that the same patterns used on Lapita pottery, barkcloth, and possibly tattoos are still evident in the ngatu made in Polynesia today.
What are Samoan mixed with?
The unique mixture of Austronesian and Papuan ancestry in Samoans is possibly related to the initial settlement of the islands and suggests that groups with somewhat different ancestry settled Samoa, compared to nearby Tonga, Dr Cochrane says.
How big is a tapa layer of Masi?
The tapa layer is very strong, there is no thinning. Dimensions: 1755mm x 540mm. $525.00 SOLD Classic Masi in striking monochrome color scheme. Created in Ca 1960’s this has been very well preserved and is strong without thinning. The dye used here is different from any other which makes it unique.
Where did the Masi patterns come from in Fiji?
Traditional Masi patterns and the arrangement of the patterns do indeed tell stories for those who can read them. They also depict where in Fiji the material was made and designed and who made them. Traditional designs are drawn from everyday Fijian life. The Fijian toothed comb is one that is used extensively.
What can you do with Fijian tapa fabric?
The fabric print owes its motifs to traditional Fijian designs. The fabric can lend itself to so many uses. Try using it as a table cloth (great for the luau’s), or napkins, curtains, upholstering furniture to get that tropical feeling, curtains and more.
What kind of masi cloth is pink brown?
A vintage Masi kuvui. This has undergone a lengthy smoking process resulting in a pink brown color. It is a different color than the other Masi kuvui which I sold in the past. Pieces like this were strictly reserved for people of higher status, mainly the Chiefs.