Tongan Tapa cloth signed by artist

Description

Tongan Ngatu signed by artist.
This is a wonderful example of a vibrantly freehand painted Tongan Ngatu or Tapa Cloth
by the well known Tongan artist Lavinia Petiola Taufa.
Focus is on the
Tuna fish, a motif associated
with the export industry of the islands.
4 small turtles symbolizing good fortune complete the design.
Dimensions: 630mm x 460mm.
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About the artist:
Lavinia Petiola Taufa is a Tonga artist who lives in New Zealand.
Her work has become very popular over the last years.
She incorporates traditional motifs in her colorful work and gives these a modern twist,
often combined with geometric patterns and flowers.
Her pieces are made of recycled older Tapa cloths.
A lot of Tongan people have turned to recycling pieces this way,
as the actual process of stripping and beating the bark
is a lengthy and time consuming task.
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If you are interested in Tapa cloths, (Kapa, Bark cloths, Masi, Ngatu, Siapo or PNG Bark cloths)
I have a few more listings on Ebay and will combine postage, if you'll buy 2 only pay postage for 1.
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Background info:
Tapa cloths are made of bark fibers, a type of cloth made from the bast, or inner bark strips of specific trees, mainly the mulberry tree, although several species of breadfruit and fig trees are also used.
As Tapa cloths are hand made with symbols and designs specific to a particular island group, region,or township, every single one is one of a kind and unique.
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About Tapapacifica:??
Living in New Zealand, I have been collecting Pacific Tapa cloths for about 30 years through the years have gained a lot of knowledge about the subject.
As I've reached my limit space wise I decided to sell a large portion of my collection off and over the last 6 years have sold a number of Tapa cloths to collectors, galleries, resorts, libraries, Government departments and museums.
A small part of my collection is kept on loan in museums in many parts of the world.
Customer satisfaction is very important to me.
Items are carefully packed, an item which arrives damaged will be refunded.
For more info: www.tapapacifica.com.
Thanks for your interest, questions are always welcome.
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