Description & Technical information
A complete section of masi kesa, possibly from a malo, a girdle or loin cloth (masi kesa means painted tapa in Fijian). The geometric decor of alternating black and white sections is quite dramatic and overall the decoration is painted with great finesse. The outer border is painted red and the long sides are fringed and painted with black stripes. Inner bark or bast of the Paper-mulberry tree (broussonetia papyrifera) with red and black pigments (old kraft paper repaires to rear).
Date: 19th century
Period: 1850-1900, 19th century
Origin: Fiji Islands, Polynesia
Medium: Paper-mulberry tree, Red and black pigments
Dimensions: 328 cm (129¹/₈ inches)
Provenance: Collected in the Lau Group of islands in Fiji on the La Koriganne expedition 1934 – 1936. Ex coll. : Charles van den Boek d’Obrennan, Paris.
Exhibitions: TAPA, Parcours des Mondes 2017, Galerie Meyer N° 12
Categories: Tribal Art
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Galerie Meyer-Oceanic Art
Tribal Art dealer specializing in early Oceanic Art since 1980 and archaic Eskimo Art since 2010
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