Tapa, Oceanic Art, Tribal Art, Primitive Arts, Fabric, Papua New Guinea

Fragment of a tapa dance skirt collected in the Popondetta area in Papua New Guinea. Tapa is the first fabric available in this region of the world. Its uses were varied : clothing, shroud, blanket, mosquito net, bag, prestige currency for certain high quality pieces. Tapas from the Popondetta region are made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree and are used as dance skirts. The bark is extracted, moistened, beaten, dried. Beating it packs the fibers and welds them together. Depending on the type of beating, the thickness, texture and flexibility of the fabric vary. The drawn patterns evoke in an abstract and symbolic way a certain number of important events or facts. Beaten bark and natural pigments. 66 x 50 cm / €300 including shipping costs.