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Artwork Tombstone
CultureSko
TitleSkirt Panel (?)
DateUnknown
MediumBarkcloth and pigment
DimensionsObject: 21 1/8 × 20 5/8 in. (53.7 × 52.4 cm)
Overall: 21 1/8 x 20 5/8 in. (53.7 x 52.4 cm)
Credit LineEskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number80.41
This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request.
Image Forthcoming

Within the South Pacific there are a number of different groups known for their creation and use of barkcloth. The Sko peoples created barkcloth which until the twentieth century was only worn by married women, and placed on their mortuary structures.

In an interesting combination of the distribution of work between men and women, these barkcloth skirt panels were made by women and then decorated by men. Typically painted, early decorations were very minimal with only a single color used. Later in the twentieth century, the style seen here developed with the use of more than one color, interlocking spirals, and references to animals.

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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Cite this page
"Skirt Panel (?) | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=80.41