Papua New Guinea

Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province

Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province
Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province

Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province

This large vintage hand painted tapa or bark cloth was made from mulberry tree bark by women of the Maisin people, Collingwood Bay, Oro Province in Papua New Guinea. These large bark cloths or embobi can be worn as skirts by women during festivals and ceremonies, exchanged as dowries, used as canopies in ritual spaces, and passed on as heirloom items. Designs can represent clan totems, land boundaries or spiritual identities, making them highly meaningful. The Maisin indigenous people are known internationally for their exquisite designs: embodiments of identity, spirituality, and social structure. This'panel' design appears to be four landscapes of ancestral land showing features in different seasons, possibly read as a map, with the darker central focal point changing with the seasons.

Such open linear diagonal designs are often accentuated with dots or'sufifi'. The women's traditional facial tattoos use similar patterning.

Early explorers wrote that villages resounded with groups of chanting women beating barkcloth. It may take several weeks or even months before a piece of tapa is finished. The darker (often red) highlight pigment traditionally used comes from plant-based dyes which fade over time. The colouring of this work is consistent with tapa where dyes have mellowed, a mark of authenticity and age.

In the 1990s, Maisin tapa was taken up as the key symbol of the anti-logging campaign in Collingwood Bay, supported by Greenpeace. Maisin delegations travelled to the US, Japan, Australia, Canada and Europe to save the rainforest with exhibitions of tapa.

Vintage tapa cloths from the Oro Province, especially those with clear clan patterns and in good condition, are highly sought after by collectors and museums. This rare and unique piece is in excellent unused condition. 120cm long x 51cm wide.

A fascinating and authentic work for display. Prefer pick-up but can post well packed with Australia Post.


Rare Vintage Tapa / Bark Cloth from Papua New Guinea, Oro Province