60 Expanding Horizons - Print Cultures across the South Pacific

Tapa specimens in Alexander Shaw's Catalogue ofthe Different Specimens ofClothCollected in the Three Voyages of Captain Cook. Grimwade Collection, BaillieuLibrary, University ofMelbourne.Photography: Louise Wtlson & Pip Morrison.

Specimen 7 in the Grimwade copy.Decoration indicates Tongan origian.Dimensions 196 x 255mm .

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Specimen 28 in the Grimwade copy. Possibly ofTahitian origin. Dimensions 197 x 256mm.

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Eighteenth-century Tapa Specimens 61

Specimen 29 in the Grimw.u:le copy.Possibly of Hawaiian origin. Linear designproduced using a 'liner'. Dimensions 168 x215mm.

Specimen 17 in the Grimw.u:le copy.Pronounced ridges and hand stitchingindicate Hawaiian origin. Dimensions 195x 253mm.

62 Expanding Horizons - Print Cultures across the South Pacific

Two pages of six small specimens. Dimensions 255 x 383mm.

An Investigation into the Origin of the TapaSpecimens Collected by Captain Cook on his Three

Voyages to the PacificLOUlSE WILSON

The Grimwade Collection in Melbourne University's Bail1ieu Library includes acopy ofAlexander Shaw's Catalogue ofthe Different Specimens ofCloth Collected inthe Three Voyages of Captain Cook. (London, 1787). Elsewhere in this issue, IanMorrison discusses the Grimwade copy of the Shaw volume and how it came tobe in the BaiIIieu collection. This article examines the physical properties of Pa-cific bark cloth - tapa - and attempts to draw some conclusions about the prob-able place oforigin ofparticular samples in Shaw's volume.

Tapa cloth, which is made from a variety of plant-based materials, wasmade throughout the Pacific to construct garments and bed covers, to form shel-ters, and for ceremonial purposes.' Tapa was collected on Cook's three voyagesbetween 1768 and 1779, when he landed at various Pacific islands, includingTahiti, the Society Islands, New Zealand, Easter Island, the Marquesas, Fiji,Tahiti, the Tongan Islands and Hawaii. As with many items supposedly col-lected on Cook's voyages, specific information related to the origin, materialsand techniques of manufacture and original use of the tapa specimens is uncer-tain. The cloth collected may not have been representative of the range beingproduced; the selection could well have been influenced by eighteenth-centuryEuropean tastes.' Much of the cloth collected was cut up and bound into samplebooks such as Alexander Shaw's volume. Very little is known about Shaw, but ithas been suggested that he acquired tapa samples in 1781 at an auction of eth-nographic specimens belonging to an officer on the third voyage.'

Hundreds of ethnographic specimens were collected on Cook's three voy-ages and extensive notes were taken on native customs. Cook had strict traderules for the exchange ofgoods with the native inhabitants of the Pacific islands.Nothing made of iron or cloth could be exchanged for anything other than pro-visions and only those appointed by him could engage in trade. On the first voy-age, Cook and Joseph Banks were the greatest collectors ofcultural material. On

I. Simon Kooijman, Tapa in Polyn"ia (Btmi" P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 234), Honolulu, Hawaii:Bishop Museum Press, 1972, p.419.2. Adrienne Kaeppler. 'Artificial Curiositt"es': An Exposition ofNative Manuftctures Collected on theThree Pacific Voyag" ofCoptainJames Coo.., RN. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum, 1978, p.50.3. Kaeppler, 'Artificial Curiosities', pp.46-47.

BSANZ Bulletin vo!. 27 nos 3 & 4, 2003, pp.60-70

64 Expanding Horizons - Print Cultures across the South Pacific

later voyages, other officers such as James King were also very much involved ind· 4tra mg.During the early stages of this research, the Grimwade copy was compared

with copies of the Shaw volume held by the State Library of Victoria, the Na-tional Library of Australia, and the Mitchell Library in Sydney. The State Li-brary ofVictoria's copy was the most similar to the Griinwade copy, except thatthe specimens have been assembled in almost exactly the reverse order.s The listof contents in all the copies studied includes tapa specimens from Tahiti, Tonga,Hawaii and Jamaica. Several of the entries are accompanied by detailed descrip-tions ofhow the cloth was made, what it was used for and in some instances, thecircumstances of collection. This leads the user to believe that the book has beenput together accurately; however specimen types and number vary from volumeto volume, and some contain items other than tapa cloth such as hair samplesand beads.

Confusion over the contents of the Shaw volumes is not a new phenome-non. At some stage during the history of several of the copies studied, attemptswere made to clarifY the identification of each specimen. The Grimwade copycontains annotations (in brown ink, possibly dating from the nineteenth century)that attempt to link each entry in the contents list with the corresponding clothspecimen. The annotations were checked against the descriptions of the cloths inShaw and two are obviously incorrect. For example, one specimen is described asbeing striped, and the annotation directs the user to a particular specimen thathas no stripes. Further, there are 37 entries in the contents list, but 41 samples inthe Grimwade copy - and even more in some other copies. In order to clarity theidentiry of the specimens, it was necessary to formulate a method for re-tracingtheir origin.

To gain an understanding of how tapa cloth was made in the eighteenthcentury, the various accounts of tapa making included in the Shaw volume werestudied. Briefly, the 'process of production involved removing the outer barkfrom the Broussonetia papyri/era (Paper Mulberry, which was used to make thefinest quality tapa in most islands), Artocarpus communis (Breadfruit, which wasused to make lower quality tapa cloth), or Fieus (Fig tree). The bark was macer-ated in water and then beaten with a four-sided piece ofwood in which grooveshad been cut. The interval between grooves varied on each face of the piece of

4. Kaeppler, 'Artificial Curiosities', pp.39 and 50.5. Pip Morrison, former Conservator Baillieu Project undertook research into other copies of theShaw volume and identified the similarity between the Grimwade and the State Library of Victo-ria copies.

Eighteenth-century Tapa Specimens 65

wood. Generally, the beating would start with the widest groove interval, andfinish with the most closely spaced grooves, but there were differences in thefinished texture from island to island. After beating, the flat piece of cloth wasleft to dry. Once dry, the cloth might be decorated using a number of tech-niques, depending on the island and the intended use of the cloth.

Dyes for decorating tapa cloth were made from a wide variery of plants in-cluding BischO'lJia javanica (Bishopwood or Euphorbia, the sticky sap was com-bined with Candlenut soot to make black dye), Rhizophura mangle (Red Man-grove, the sap was combined with clays to make red dye), MIJrinda citrifolia(Noni, the bark was used to make red dye, particularly in Hawaii) and Curcumadomestica (Tumeric, which was used to make yellow dye in most islands, but wasnot distinctive to Tonga). Individual pieces were sometimes joined together tomake larger cloths using adhesives from Tacca pinnatifida (Arrowroot,. the rootswere used to make adhesive paste) and Polypodium phymatodes (Laua'e, a scentedfern, the fronds ofwhich were used to make scented gum).

When the cloths were to be used for shelter or waterproof clothing, theywere coated in various oils obtained from plants such as Calophyllum inophyllum(Kamani nut, which was used in Hawaii to produce a chocolate-brown colouredscented oil), Aleuntes moluccana (candlenut or Indian walnut, the nuts were usedto make oils and the soot was used to make black dye) and Cocus nucifers (Coco-nut palm, the source of coconut oil). Occasionally scented oils ·were applied tothe tapa solely to impart a pleasant fragrance.

Analysis of the plant materials used to make the tapa specimens was pro-posed as a potential means of determining their origin. It was hoped that theplants utilized for tapa production would have been isolated to small geographicregions and that this would influence the materials used from island to island.RAMAN Laser Spectroscopy was proposed as a potential tool for identifYingthe cloth support and the dyes on each specimen. RAMAN has been success-fully used to identify pigments on a variety of paper-based materials and thebeauty of the technique is that analysis can be done in situ without the need totake physical samples.6 RAMAN relies on matching the spectra generated byunknown samples with a spectral library of known standards.

Since there were no RAMAN spectral standards for any of the plant-typeslisted above, samples of all known plants used in eighteenth-century tapa pro-duction would need to be sourced, dyes that replicate those made in the Pacificin the eighteenth century would need to be made, and then RAMAN spectra

6. C. Porter, 'Laser RAMAN Specrroscopy: A Tool for Non-destructive Pigment AnaIy.is ofManuscripts', The Paper Conurvator:Journalofthe Institute ofPap" Conservation, 1992, p.93.

66 Expanding Horizons - Print Cultures across the South Pacific

produced for each one. The Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden at theBishop Museum in Hawaii cultivates a number ofplants used for making tapa inthe eighteenth century. Contact was made with the Director of the garden to seeif standard plant samples could be provided for analysis. Through this contact itwas found that the plants used to make tapa were not restricted to a small geo-graphic region because they had been introduced to many of the Pacific islandsby Polynesian seafarers travelling from Indonesia.' Plant cuttings and seedlingswere packed in bark or damp soil and carried in their canoes.8 The plants dis-tributed in this way include Noni, Tumeric, Breadfruit, Paper Mulberry,Candlenut, Cordia subcordata (Kou, the leaves were used to make red dye, par-ticularly in Hawaii), and Calophyllum inophyllum (Tamanu, the nuts were used toproduce a chocolate-brown coloured, scented oil).' After their introduction,these plants were cultivated specifically for the purpose of tapa manufacture.Ocean currents also would have spread the seeds of many varieties commonlyutilized for tapa production.!O

Given the wide geographical spread of plants used for tapa manufacture, itwas decided, after consultation with several curators specialising in Pacific cul-tures, to focus on srylistic differences between the specimens as a means of iden-tifying origin. Research into the aesthetic traditions of the various Pacific islandsindicated that while the islands were not isolated from each other and some ex-change of ideas and practices occurred, there were differences in the decorativeelements and techniques used to impart designs. The only shortcoming with thisapproach is that the key texts describing tapa-making traditions in the islandstend to focus on post-European contact tapa. The trade ofgoods between Cookand the native populations, however, probably rapidly altered local aesthetic tra-ditions and techniques. Europeans traded a range of articles with the indigenouspopulations, including decorated European textiles and metal tools. For exam-ple, in post-contact Hawaii new techniques of decoration such as watermarkingand block printing were developed as a direct result of the introduction of metaltools.ll However, it was hoped that the differences between the islands would be

7. Personal message via email from Momi Subiono, Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Gardenat the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, 12 March 2003.8. Simon Kooijman, Polynesian Barl«loth, Aylesbury, Bucks: Shire Publications, 1988, p.16.9. Personal message via cmail from Mami Subiono 12 March 2003.10. Telephone conversation with Professor Jim Rass, Associate Director, Royal Botanical Gar-dens, Melbourne, 21 February 2003.11. Kooijman, Polynesian Baridath, p.S7.

Eighteenth-century Tapa Specimens 67

pronounced enough to tentatively identify the samples using post-contact exam-ples and published descriptions and then seek expert confirmation.'2

The Grimwade copy of the Shaw volume contains 21 large (approximately237x160mm) and 22 smaller pieces of tapa (ranging from 75x50mm to97x55mm). The general condition of each specimen was assessed and, apartfrom some minor creasing and delamination of layers, the cloths were· in soundcondition. After examining all the specimens it was clear that delamination waspeculiar to those that had been pasted together rather than felted. Distinguish-ing features such as colour, decorative motifs, method of media application,coatings, surface texture, weight, and how layers or pieces were joined were re-corded for each specimen. The majority of the decorative patterns and texturesof the specimens fall into four main types. On the basis ofthe distinctive featuresnoted approximately half of the specimens were tentatively identified.

The twelve Type 1 specimens were tentatively identified as originating fromTahiti. They are white, very soft and have numerous fine parallel lines embossedinto the surface. The wooden beater used to form the cloth would have producedthese lines. Tahitian tapa was beaten with the finest grooved surface of thewooden beater at the end of the beating process, and this resulted in an imprintof fine parallel lines on the surface of the cloth." Most Type 1 specimens arevery fine and of even thickness, but two are thicker and appear to be made fromseveral layers of cloth. Tahitian women sometimes made thick cloth by feltingand pasting prepared pieces together to form a layered sheet of chamois-leatherquality." In Tahiti white, undecorated cloths were used for various garmentsincluding loincloths, undergarments, and skirt-like items. Large bundles of thistype of cloth were also stored suspended from the roof of the Tahitian chiefshouse as a sign of his status and wealth."

The five Type 2 specimens, which have a heavily ribbed surface texture,were tentatively identified as originating from Hawaii. Hawaiian tapa intendedfor loincloths and women's skirts was sometimes ribbed. Unlike Tahitian cloth,where beaters caused the grooves left in the cloth, in Hawaii the dampened clothwas spread over a grooved board and the grooves were pressed into the clothwith a bamboo ruler.'· Two of the ribbed samples are hand stitched. In one of

12. I am indebted to Julia Stee1e, Curator, Economic Botany Collections at Kew Gardens in theUnited Kingdom, who kindly provided me with details of all nineteenth-entury tapa samples inthe collection from the Pacific region.13. Kooijrnan, Polynesian Barkcloth, p.84.14. Kooijman, Polynesian Barkdoth, p.IS.15. Kooijrnan, Polynuian Barkcloth, p.17.16. Kooijman, Topa in Polynesia, Appendix 1, Table D.

68 Expanding Horizons - Print Cultures across the South Pacific

the cases, the stitching has been done to repair a small hole, but in the othercase, it has been done to join two pieces of cloth together. Sewing is only foundon Hawaiian tapa and it was done using needles made from bone, bamboo orwood and tapa fibre thread.'1

The twelve Type 3 specimens were tentatively identified as originating fromHawaii. They are medium to heavy weight cloths decorated with linear designs,in a variety of colours including yellow, brown, black, crimson, russet red, andbluelblack. The wide range of plants in Hawaii provided many different dyesources for decoration.'s Linear ornamentation Was common in Hawaii. Thelines of these designs are generally parallel to each other, some appear to havebeen done freehand with a pandanus 'pen' or a piece of bamboo cane dipped indye." Others appear to have been executed with a wooden or bamboo liner, acomb-like instrument that is dipped into dye and produces a number of parallellines simultaneously.2. In Hawaii, decorated tapa was intended for ceremonialpurposes and as an indication ofsocial status.21 The Hawaiian origin ofseveral ofthese specimens was confirmed when images of identical tapa cloth were foundin Adrienne Kaeppler's Cook Voyage Artifacts. The cloths, which are in a collec-tion in F1orence, were labelled 'Hawaiian bark cloth'.22

The eight Type 4 specimens, which all have redlbrown coloured printeddecoration, were tentatively identified as originating from Tonga. In Tonga, de-sign-tablet patterns made of coconut-leaf midribs and cord were rubbed on thesurface of the cloth. Designs created by rubbing are less defined than those doneby direct printing. In Tonga, the dyes used for this type ofdecoration were typi-cally reddish-brown in colour and were made from an infusion of Bishopwoodbark. The dye was combined with red earth and Red mangrove, which acted as abinder.23 Sometimes the design was enhanced with dark, hand-drawn lines andthis is the Case with one of the Grimwade specimens. Cloths decorated in thisway were pasted rather than felted, because the design tablets were too fragile to

17. Kooijman, Tapa in Polynesia, p.416 and Appendix 1, Tables D and F.18. Roger Neich & Mic!< Pendergrast, Tapa of the Pacific, photography by Krzysztof Pfeiffer,Auckland: David Bateman in association with Auckland Museum, 2001, p.20.19. Kooijman, Polynesian Barkcloth, p.28.20. Neich & Pendergrast, p.19.21. Kooijman, Polynesian Barkdoth, p.56.22. Adrienne Kaeppler. ed., Cook Voyage ArtiftU!S in Leningrad. Berne and Florence Museums,Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press, 1978, p.97 (flg.150), p.l34 (fig. 205), p.l35 (fig. 207)and p.l36 (fig. 208).23. Kooijman, Tapa in Polynesia, p.417.

Eighteenth-century Tapa Specimens 69

withstand the beating associated with felting." These pasted cloths exhibit themost pronounced delamination of all the specimens in the Grimwade copy.

Two of the samples have a dark, glossy surface finish. In addition to sometype of waterproofing agent, the samples may have been smoked. Smoking ofcloths - usually for royal garments - was typical of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.25Since Cook did not visit Samoa, and Fijian tapa is predominandy decorated withyellow dye rather than redlbrown dye, these specimens are also thought to be ofTongan origin. Tongan tapa was primarily used for socially important ceremo-nial presentations.26

Summary of Results

Type Distinctive characteristics Probable oriJ;in

1 Fine parallel line embossing. Fine embossed lines distinctive toTahiti.

2 Heavily ribbed surface texture. Stitching only done in Hawaii.Some are hand stitched. Heavv ribbinl! distinctive to Hawaii.

3 Linear designs in a wide vari- Line decoration popular in Hawaii.ety ofcolours. Both liners and hand-drawn lines

were used. Use of range of colourscommon in Hawaii.

4 Printed decoration that ap- Printing done using rubbing tech-pears to have been done using nique. Rubbing done in Tonga andrubbing technique. Redlbrown Fiji. Smoking of cloth done in Sa-coloured dye. Surface of some moa, Fiji and Tonga. Cook did notcloths possibly smoked. Layers visit Samoa; brown dye not noted inof cloth pasted together rather Fiji; therefore specimens probablythan felted. Tonl!an.

Once the specimens had been tentatively identified using post-contact descrip-tions, expert confirmation was sought. Dr Adrienne Kaeppler, who has beentracing the origin of ethnographic material collected on Cook's voyages since thelate 1960s, smdied images of the specimens and provided her best opinion ontheir origin. Dr Kaeppler confirmed the tentative identifications, and she also

24. Kooijman. Tapa in Polynesia. p.416 and Appendix 1. Tables D and F.25. Dr Vanderwal, Senior Curator Oceania Indigenous Cultures Department, Museum Victoriasuggested these specimens were smoked. He viewed the Grimwade copy on 9April 2003.26. Kooijman, Tapa in PolyntSia, p.420.

70 Expanding Horizons - Print Cultures across the South Pacific

provided information about many of those that had not yet been identified.These findings challenge the Shaw contents list and some of the annotations.Eight of the annotations appear to be incorrect based purely on the decorativeelements and textures of the cloths and the descriptions of the cloths in Shaw.According to the contents list, the Shaw volume contains eleven Hawaiian,eighteen Tahitian, four Tongan, one Jamaican and three unplaced specimens - atotal of37. The exercise is complicated by the fact that the Grimwade copy con-tains a total of 41 specimens, four more than are listed in the printed contentspages.

In summary, twenty-one specimens are now believed to be Hawaiian,twelve Tahitian, six Tongan, while the origins of two remain unknown. TheTahitian specimens could have been collected on any of Cook's three voyages,the Tongan specimens could have been collected on the second or third, whilstthe Hawaiian specimens could only have been collected on the third. The de-tailed findings from this research project will be added to the Baillieu Librarycatalogue and used to establish a website containing images of each specimen. Itis hoped that the website may assist other custodians to learn more about thecontents of their Shaw volumes. Ultimately there is the tantalising prospect of asystematic comparison ofall the existing copies, which might enable us to recon-struct the original sheets of tapa and to establish how many sheets Shaw pur-chased and how many books he could have made.

AcknowledgmentsThis research was made possible with the support of Melbourne University's Informa-tion Division, particularly Tony Arthur, Michael Piggott and Ian Morrison. Specialthanks to Robyn Sloggett,Iude Fraser, Pip Morrison and Katy Glen at the University ofMelbourne Conservation Service. Thank you to all those outside Melbourne Universitywho offered assistance, particularly Dr Adrienne Kaeppler at the Smithsonian Instirutionin Washington, Dr Ron Vanderwal at Museum Victoria, Momi Subiono at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, Bishop Museum in Hawaii, Julia Steele at theEconomic Botany Collections, Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom and Professor JimRoss at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Melbourne.