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.

Two papers by David Erhardt and Natalie Firnhaber describe gas
chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of candlenut and other
oils used in the manufacture of Hawaiian barkcloth. The first paper
examines deterioration and treatment of oiled tapa in more detail:-

    "Hawaiian Oiled and Mamaki Tapa:Characterization and
    Conservation"
    In Symposium 86:The Care and Preservation of Ethnological
    Materials
    R. Barclay, M. Gilberg, J.C. McCawley and T. Stone (eds)
    Canadian Conservation Institute 1986

    "The Analysis and Identification of Oils in Hawaiian Oiled Tapa"
    In Recent Advances in the Conservation and Analysis of Artifacts
    University of London. Institute of Archaeology. Jubilee
    Conservation Conference Summer Schools Press 1987

I have also seen reference to chemical analysis of candlenut kukui
in

    "Islands, Plants, and Polynesians: An Introduction to Polynesian
    Ethnobotany", Dioscorides Press 1991, p. 157.

Julia Gresson
Auckland Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira
New Zealand


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:42
                  Distributed: Friday, March 11, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-42-012
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