Barkcloth

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Origin Polynesia

Title Barkcloth (Tapa)

Date Late 19th–mid 20th century

Medium Barkcloth with pigment

Dimensions Object: 89 1/2 × 56 3/8 in. (227.3 × 143.2 cm)
Overall: 89 1/2 x 56 3/8 in. (227.3 x 143.2 cm)

Credit Line Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Henry R. Hope, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 63.325

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About this Work

Barkcloth has been produced throughout Polynesia for hundreds of years. Different areas of Polynesia have their own local names for what we refer to generally as tapa.

Tapa is most often made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree, which is stripped, beaten, and then either pasted or felted together to form sheets of barkcloth. While its production is not as prolific as it once was, tapa continues to hold a place of prominence in cultures across the Pacific, especially in Polynesia, where it is used for occasions ranging from wedding to funerals, as presentation gifts, in dances, as bedding, and for clothing.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Barkcloth | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=63.325