Siapo

Bark cloth decorated with a pattern in brown die. The pattern is on both sides and includes chevrons based on sewn pandanus leaves and flowers. It has painted highlights of discs and rectangles. The material is made from the bark of the Paper Mulberry which is stripped from tree saplings and beaten out in strips.

This is a late 19th-century 'siapo tasina' style, still made today, using block printing with hand painted blocks. The brown pigment is resin, while the darker spots are made by adding the charred ashes of candle nuts. The cloth was formerly in the collections of the London Missionary Society, and is accompanied by a postcard stating that it was brought in 1896 by Miss E. Moore.

Object Details

ID: ZBA5500
Collection: World Cultures
Type: Siapo
Display location: Not on display
Date made: 1896
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Overall: 1750 mm x 1480 mm