Barkcloth, ′ahu, from the Society Islands (probably Tahiti); part of the Forster collection (Forster 20; 1886.1.1254)

Piece of thin bark cloth dyed yellow. The layers have been made by folding one piece of cloth around itself to form a tube of cloth. One edge was then beaten to prevent the layers from shifting. The construction of the tube cannot be described fully because of the damage to the top of the cloth as well as some felting of the layers limiting visual access. The tube is made of four layers of beaten cloth and has an average of 14 beater marks per cm

• Museum database entry.