Traditional Tapa Textiles of the Pacific by Roger Neich

Traditional Tapa Textiles of the Pacific by Roger Neich

The manufacture of tapa cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, is one of the most distinctive products of the cultures of the Pacific islands. In several parts of Melanesia from New Guinea to Vanuatu in Fiji and on most of the high islands of Polynesia from Hawaii to Tahiti, the Marquesas, Tonga, Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands and New Zealand, the manufacture of barkcloth is an ancient craft which has been practised for thousands of years. This volume presents a range of examples of the ancient art of tapa, from cloth brought back from the first European voyages to the Pacific to contemporary examples. The origins, patterns, materials and manufacturing techniques are described, as well as tapa's cultural context and uses in weddings, funerals, clothing, dance and ornament.

A distinguished anthropologist specializing in Maori art, Dr Roger Neich BSC, MA, PhD, was born in Petone, Wellington, New Zealand in 1944.

As well as prodigious activity in researching and writing, he currently divides his time between two formal roles - Curator of Ethnology at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Auckland.

Dr Neich has carried out fieldwork in the Pacific, notably in Papua New Guinea, Samoa and New Zealand. He was the Ethnologist at the National Museum, of New Zealand 1969-1986.

In 1980-1982 he undertook research at the University of California, Berkeley after being awarded a National Research Advisory Council Postgraduate Research Fellowship.

He was co-curator of the Maori exhibition at the British Museum, London, in 1996, and is co-curator of the proposed Maori exhibition in Rome using the Italian collections.

He has been curator of Ethnology at the Auckland War Memorial Museum since 1986 and was awarded a personal chair in Anthropology at the University of Auckland in 2001.

Author's affiliation (college and/or business):
In the US: University of California, Berkeley - Research Fellow there in 1980-1982
In NZ: Auckland (lecturer; personal chair 2001); Victoria University of Wellington

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780500279892
ISBN 10	0500279896
Title	Traditional Tapa Textiles of the Pacific
Author	Roger Neich
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Thames & Hudson Ltd
Year published	1997-11-10
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.