Tapa

Description

Irregularly-shaped Tahitian tapa (ahu) fragment with stamped fern designs in red-brown ink. Tan ground is embossed throughout with typical Tahitian small, tightly-spaced parallel lines. Fragment was cut from a larger piece. Made in Tahiti, where tapa is known as ahu. The ahu is made of at least two layers, and is heavy and thick but very soft. Tapa, or ahu in Tahiti, is fabric made from the inner bark of certain trees and is widely used in the Pacific for clothing and bedding, as well as secular, sacred, and ceremonial uses.