Barkcloth, ngatu tahina, from Tonga; part of the Forster collection (Forster 51; 1886.1.1238)

Multilayered piece piece of barkcloth; the number of layers varies between 2 to 4 depending on where in the sheet they are counted. Each layer is constructed of smaller sheets that have been felted together. There are no beater marks visible on the surface of this cloth. The topmost layer has been decorated using a reddish brown dye that is partially water resistant. The design is composed in rows divided by a central line. The central line is either a solid brown line or a line made by printing over a cord. The decoration within the row is a linear pattern, and alternates every other row between vertical lines and lines on the diagonal. The object has an 18 cm border of plain white bark cloth around the printed areas. The margins of the barkcloth have also been decorated with dye

• Museum database entry.