Samoan siapo
Kew Economic Botany Collection, 42861
Art Historical Description
This Samoan tiputa garment has several interesting features worth noting. Although its hand-painted decoration shows it to be manufactured in the tradition of siapo mamanu cloths, its reverse bears a simple scheme of parallel brown lines on the lower of its two constituent layers, showing that it has received at least some rubbed decoration during composition. The neckline is trimmed with a piping of imported black calico, finely stitched – a technique that became increasingly common during the missionary period of the mid-19th century. The brownish-red panels front and back are rich and lustrous, indicating their over-painting with a top layer of varnish-like Parinari insularum fruit juice. The tiputa was donated to Kew in 1866 by the Reverend Thomas Powell, a missionary of the London Missionary Society who lived on the island of Tutuila for many years, and a keen botanist.
Images
Details
Type
garment
Date
1866
Decorated
yes
Dimensions
210cm (length) x 80.5cm (width) x 0.7mm (thickness)
Manufacture
Associated Materials
Broussonetia papyrifera; Bischofia javanica; Parinari insularum; Tacca leontopetaloides; Aleurites moluccana
Associated Techniques
bark removal; river-board cortex stripping; initial beating – wooden anvil and square beater; spreading and homogenisation; flat-faced beater smoothing; composition pasting throughout; rubbed decoration; post-completion conditioning; running stitches; fringe cutting; serrated edging; hand painting; tannin-rich glazing
Associated Fabric Types
siapo mamanu; siapo tasina
Conservation Description
Treated as a student project at the Textile Conservation Centre i
Version
Entry created on 28 August 2020