Tapa

Hartmut Kutzke <h.kutzke [at] uni-bonn__de> writes

>We are working on the conservation of a Tapa from Hawaii. Do anyone
>have information about the impregnation (oils, waxes, resins etc.)
>of such tapas? And on the binding media for pigments used in
>traditional Hawaiian artcraft? Furthermore, we are looking for a IR
>spectrum of candlenut.

    A very useful paper was published by the Bishop Museum in 1988:

        Roger G. Rose, Carol Turchan, Natalie Firnhaber, and
        Linnea O. Brown.
        "The Bishop Museum Tapa Collection: Conservation and
        Research into Special Problem," Bishop Museum Occasional
        Papers 28, February 1988.

    Specifically discussed are the characteristics of "oiled" kapa
    and specifically mentions the use of both kamani and kukui
    (candlenut) nut oil for increasing flexibility and improving the
    color and waterproofing of the kapa cloth. It does not include
    an IR spectrum for kukui.

    Alan Miller
    Courtauld Institute of Art
    London, UK

Michael Miller


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:39
                 Distributed: Friday, February 18, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-39-014
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