The manufacture of tapa cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, is one of the most intriguing products of the cultures of the Pacific islands. This book presents a complete range of the ancient art of tapa, from cloth brought back from the first European voyages to the Pacific to contemporary examples. The origins, materials, manufacturing techniques, and common uses of tapa are described and illustrated with 263 illustrations, 208 in color.

"The artistic, cultural and economic functions of siapo in Samoan life prevail today... My little book is a modest contribution to understanding this important aspect of Samoan culture..."--Preface.

Auckland Museum's collection of tapa cloth from around the Pacific is one of the most extensive in the world and it forms the basis of this comprehensive survey.

A lively and innovative collection of new and recent writings on the cultural contexts of textiles The study of textile culture is a dynamic field of scholarship which spans disciplines and crosses traditional academic boundaries. A Companion to Textile Culture is an expertly curated compendium of new scholarship on both the historical and contemporary cultural dimensions of textiles, bringing together the work of an interdisciplinary team of recognized experts in the field. The Companion provides an expansive examination of textiles within the broader area of visual and material culture, and addresses key issues central to the contemporary study of the subject. A wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches to the subject are explored—technological, anthropological, philosophical, and psychoanalytical, amongst others—and developments that have influenced academic writing about textiles over the past decade are discussed in detail. Uniquely, the text embraces archaeological textiles from the first millennium AD as well as contemporary art and performance work that is still ongoing. This authoritative volume: Offers a balanced presentation of writings from academics, artists, and curators Presents writings from disciplines including histories of art and design, world history, anthropology, archaeology, and literary studies Covers an exceptionally broad chronological and geographical range Provides diverse global, transnational, and narrative perspectives Included numerous images throughout the text to illustrate key concepts A Companion to Textile Culture is an essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, instructors, and researchers of textile history, contemporary textiles, art and design, visual and material culture, textile crafts, and museology.

The manufacture of tapa, barkcloth, is an ancient art which has been practised for thousands of years. Auckland Museum's collection of tapa cloth from around the Pacific is one of the most extensive in the world and forms the basis of this comprehensive survey. Pacific Tapa presents a complete range of the art, from cloth brought back from the first voyages by Europeans to the Pacific to contemporary examples.

This open access book presents multidisciplinary research on the cultural history, ethnic connectivity, and oceanic transportation of the ancient Indigenous Bai Yue (百越) in the prehistoric maritime region of southeast China and southeast Asia. In this maritime Frontier of China, historical documents demonstrate the development of the “barbarian” Bai Yue and Island Yi (岛夷) and their cultural interaction with the northern Huaxia (华夏) in early Chinese civilization within the geopolitical order of the “Central State-Four Peripheries Barbarians-Four Seas”. Archaeological typologies of the prehistoric remains reveal a unique cultural tradition dominantly originating from the local Paleolithic age and continuing to early Neolithization across this border region. Further analysis of material culture from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age proves the stability and resilience of the indigenous cultures even with the migratory expansion of Huaxia and Han (汉) from north to south. Ethnographical investigations of aboriginal heritage highlight their native cultural context, seafaring technology and navigation techniques, and their interaction with Austronesian and other foreign maritime ethnicities. In a word, this manuscript presents a new perspective on the unique cultural landscape of indigenous ethnicities in southeast China with thousands of years’ stable tradition, a remarkable maritime orientation and overseas cultural hybridization in the coastal region of southeast China.

"This book is based on research in museum collections and on fieldwork in Polynesia and Fiji ..."--Page 3.