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Tongan

Tapa Cloth

Tongan, 1933-1966

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Tongan

Tapa Cloth

Tongan, 1933-1966

Physical Qualities Bark, pigments, W. 92 1/8 x L. 153 1/8 in. (234 x 389 cm.)
Credit Line Gift of Dr. John Money, Baltimore
Object Number 1999.758
Birds and numbers at each unpainted end; patterned strips: royal crest, birds, Norfolk Island pines, lions, text, lions, Norfolk Island pines, birds, royal crests.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift 1993; Dr John Money
Veys, Fanny Wonu. Unwrapping Tongan Barkcloth: Encounters, Creativity and Female Agency. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.

Inscribed: Numbers at one end: 2, 6; 1, 5; 7, 4; 6, 3; 5, 2; Numbers at other end: 2, 1, 7, 6, 5. Text within royal crest: MOTOGAKOTTOKU KOE OTUA TOFIA. Text within central strip: KOE HALAPAINI, OVAHAAKOLOV.

Culture

Tongan

2000–2000

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