Vintage Tongan Tapa Cloth

A very nice decorative piece of tapa work from Tonga measuring 38" x 29"....will frame -up beautifully or just hang on wall. Has some age and minor wear to it but quite a striking piece of art. Good buying now and will only appreciate in value. The cloth is known by a number of local names, eg, tapa cloth, although the term tapa is international and understood throughout the islands that use the cloth. The word tapa is from Tahiti, where Captain Cook was the first European to pick it up and to introduce it to rest of the world. In Tonga, tapa is known as ngatu, and here it is of great social importance to the islanders, often being given as gifts. In Samoa, the same cloth is called siapo. In Hawaii, it is known as kapa. In Rotuma it is called `uha and in Fiji it is called masi.