Belt, tatua, of flax, plant fibre, and dog skin, from New Zealand; part of the Banks collection (1886.21.2)

The belt is a an example of double pair twining in fine brown dyed (?) fibres of New Zealand flax. The presence of double pair twining has been confirmed by microscope examination. The warp threads are a 2-ply Z twist thread. Six lines of undyed white fibres have been woven along the top edge. These vary in width and due to the method of construction start at the front of the belt and at the front right side wrap towards the back, leaving three lines at the front and three lines at the back. The seam of the belt runs along the centre back of the object and has been stitched closed with pieces of dog skin, on one of which the white hair can still be seen. Some areas of the seam are open and the ends of the twined are visible. The outer edge is finished and the interior has been left as an unfinished edge. The ties are constructed of 16, 8+(?)-stranded plaits that are laid out diagonally and weave together in what appears to be a 8(?)-stranded plait. The small 8-stranded plaits appear to run through the larger 8(?)-stranded plait though there also is some unplaited fibre visible. The ties are unravelling at the ends and a number of groups of spun threads can be seen, possibly suggesting a much more complicated plait or some form of core in the plait

• Museum database entry.