I sold this on ebay once for $225 but the guy never sent me the money…so I am selling it again….by the way…isn’t our living room nice?
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eBay: Huge Tapa Siapo Bark Cloth Hawaiiana Samoan Tongan (item 150002940810 end time Jul-04-06 10:27:35 PDT)
This huge 77″ x 94″ tapa cloth is of unknown age and origin. I am not any kind of an expert in this kind of thing. My best guess is that this is either Samoan or Hawaiian Tapa or Siapa cloth. It is in great shape.
Many people use this sort of thing as a decorative hanging in their study or living room.
I got this when I bought an abandoned storage locker in Kailua, HI about a week ago. The locker had belonged to an older Hawaiian lady who suddenly quit paying her monthly fees.
This cloth is made by hand from the hau or mulberry trees bark. It is a very laborious process that can take great lengths of time. Often this cloth is used in traditional ceremonies such a weddings or funerals. A piece of this size would usually take a number of workers to make, in some cases up to 30 individuals.
There is one small tear, as pictured. As mentioned before, I don’t know much about this. I looked on the internet and am now listing it in the hopes that those who know more about it will help to describe it in this weeklong auction and make the price fair market.
I think this is a real treasure for anyone who is an admirer of Pacific arts or as we say in Hawai’i ‘mea no’eau’ or ‘creative works’
