Bark Cloth Fragment

Bedding (uncertain)

A square fragment of bark cloth (tapa) made of the inner bark of a tree. One side of the bark cloth is red and glazed with black decorations. Concentric circles of clustered stamps at the center. Wide band on four sides of a square, also of clustered stamps. The designs resemble designs created with Hawaiian bamboo stamps (‘ohe kāpala). The fragment has possibly been cut from a sleeping tapa or a loincloth.

Bark cloth is produced from the inner bark of a tree, typically paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), which is cultivated, harvested, and processed through soaking, scraping, fermenting, and repeated beating to form and refine the cloth. Patterned beaters may be used during production to create watermarks that can reflect regional styles or maker affiliations.

Bark cloth was utilized in a variety of ways across Oceania, primarily for practical applications such as clothing and bedding. Beyond these utilitarian functions, it also played an important role in ceremonial contexts, including funerary practices and formal exchange presentations.