Giant Tapa Cloth

After being skunked during the standard thift store rounds, I was headed home when I saw an estate sale. I ended picking up a huge tapa cloth - 14 feet by 6 feet! The (previous) owner was apparently some interior decorator, who picked up this piece in Hawaii for a project that was subsequently canceled.

The cloth is so large, I didn't have room in my house to photograph the entire thing.

Any suggestions on what to do with a giant tapa? :)

The cloth is actually folded lengthwise. Imagine this twice as wide.

This cloth has a really nice pattern.

On 2006-06-24 18:19, tikipedia wrote:

Any suggestions on what to do with a giant tapa? :)

This cloth has a really nice pattern.

Sell it to me!!! Or, do you need a bar??? :wink:

On 2006-06-24 18:19, tikipedia wrote:
The cloth is so large, I didn't have room in my house to photograph the entire thing.

Any suggestions on what to do with a giant tapa?

Use it as wall covering. Wrap around the corner, if too big for one wall.
hang a long bamboo pole horizontallly just below the ceiling on a wall and drape it over the pole.
Just remember. do NOT ever cut it. Or glue it to some surface.

[ Edited by: lanikai 2006-06-24 21:07 ]

Try a ceiling. Ceilings have lots of uninterupted space and can be the focal point of your tiki or Hawaiian room. Then on the walls you can paint or cover in bac bac matting and hang all the art you want. It would look fantastic with light sconces shining up highlighting the tapa.

Show pics once you decide. And what great find.
Andy

Make a Tapa cloth chandalier that's 6 feet tall & 4.45 feet across!

On 2006-06-25 17:21, freddiefreelance wrote:
Make a Tapa cloth chandalier that's 6 feet tall & 4.45 feet across!

Bondage Tiki??

Edit!!!

Oh crap. I read it to fast. I thought you said, Make a Tapa Chamberlier!!!!

I've had a Cramps CD in my truck for the last week. " I can't find my mind!!"

[ Edited by: RevBambooBen 2006-06-25 20:39 ]

I saw it rollin past 4th and vine the other day,,,Not a care in the world. If you hurry, you can catch it, Or catch a glimpse of it wheeling along!

That's a pretty big one, but there are many much much bigger. I've seen pieces the length of a tennis court! On the islands, it's used at wedding parties and is cut in strips. You'll notice one end has numbers on it. They cut a piece at each line and give to wedding guests.

Don't fret about cutting it. Use it however you find to use it. Make lamps, wall hangings, bar inset panels, etc. It's not precious stuff. You could cover a skyscraper with how much is made on any one island. It's not exactly common here, but it is not scarce. And, that pattern is not all that rare either. Don't feel guilty about taking your great find and cutting it up to make whatever you can imagine.

Make a big lamp
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=13608&forum=7&start=0

If I could get my hands on a piece of tapa cloth that big I'd probably cut some lightweight wood panels (luan or something similar). I'd cut the wood panels nearly as wide as the vertical sections of the tapa design and almost as high as the ceiling. Then I'd get a roll of heavy canvas and sandwich the rectangular wood panels between the tapa and canvas. I'd leave areas of cloth around each wood panel just wide enough to carefully hand sew the tapa and canvas together in such a way that would hold the wood panels in tight enough that the tapa cloth wouldn't sag.

Then I'd put the whole thing up against the wall. It could easily bend around room corners at the sections between the wood panels where the tapa cloth and canvas are sewn together. It would serve as a wallcovering that could come with me whenever I change houses.

That's just what I would do. Have fun figuring out what'll work best for you.

Found these two 14'x10' pieces of tapa cloth today...

I admit I know very little about tapa cloth. I do have a book on primitive art that explains design from region to region, but maybe someone could give me a quick Cliff Note lesson on tapa.

Not sure what I will do with them but I sure do like these pieces.

PTD

Killer tapa cloth-Jesus its huuggge!!!!!

I have a tapa cloth question and I am hoping someone can assist me and provide an answer. I just bought a large tapestry, its sort of like the one pictured at the beginning of the post. How can I tell if it is real tapa cloth? I know mine is not fabric,and its got a soft feel to it and it feels almost like paper. When you look closely it looks sort of woven. The ends are all uneven and frayed which makes me think its real, but I dont know anything about tapa so I cant tell. I will post a photo when it stops raining here and I can get the tapestry out of the car, I dont want to ruin it in a downpour. Thanks in advance for any info.

ALL I can sat is you got to be kidding me that you aint' jumpin fer joy to find a tapa that big ...or really any tapa that you can get a hold of !
Dont know waht to do with it ? Is that a discreet way of asking if somebody wants to buy it from you ?
Gotta say considering the work it takes to make one , a large tapa is an amazing find!
USE IT !
WALLS, CEILING!,BEDROOM,BAR!,LAMPS,FRAMES!....go crazy!
Lucky!..............

Yeah, you might even be able to do something like this...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=31261&forum=18&18

And still have a huge piece leftover. Tapa is primarily made out of mulberry and other barks, hence the name "bark cloth". It has the feel of material, only thicker and more like pulp. It is heavier than regular material and keeps it form rather well.

Here is a little history from Wikipedia...

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkiXEvO9J5N8AlQVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNTk5dXBpBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA0RGUjVfMTAz/SIG=11ro3jdif/EXP=1240534596/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapa_cloth

I still have a larger piece and one smaller one, the smaller will be made into a lamp soon!

PTD

The only right thing to do with leftover tapa is to create something like this:

But don't take my word for it. Ben liked it enough he bought one so maybe it would be a GREAT money making scheme! :wink:

Ummm...is it recyclable tissues? Hey...there's a marketing idea...reusable "green" tissues...ick!

On 2009-04-22 16:35, TikiGoddess wrote:
I have a tapa cloth question and I am hoping someone can assist me and provide an answer. I just bought a large tapestry, its sort of like the one pictured at the beginning of the post. How can I tell if it is real tapa cloth? I know mine is not fabric,and its got a soft feel to it and it feels almost like paper. When you look closely it looks sort of woven. The ends are all uneven and frayed which makes me think its real, but I dont know anything about tapa so I cant tell. I will post a photo when it stops raining here and I can get the tapestry out of the car, I dont want to ruin it in a downpour. Thanks in advance for any info.

Ok, here are some photos, can anyone tell me if this is a real tapa cloth? I honestly have no idea. I photo'd the back and a close up of the edge so the weave can be seen. It feels like thick paper, its soft and has a sort of waxy texture. Thanks for any info!!

Yes, that would be tapa cloth!

PTD

THANK YOU!!! Now I can be excited about this!! Thanks!!!!!

Picked another Giant Tapa up today! This one is 18'x10'. Gonna put it up in Tiki Marketplace to see if there is any interest here, then on to Ebay!

Later!

PTD

I'd even consider the Sundial of the exiled on par or a little better then that trinket.
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I'm just seeing this tapa thread for the first time. I am an expert on Tapa, I even wrote a book about it. I can identify where your pieces are from if anyone is interested in knowing. Most of what Ive seen here is Tongan with the exception of the box with bunny ears thats Fijian.
I will be sure to look more often incase there are any questions I can answer.

Sophista-tiki great to have someone in the know about tapa. I have had this piece for a few years and it hangs on a wall in my home bar. It is nine and a half feet long and a bit over two feet wide. I got it for 18.00$ and thought that was a great deal. I'm thinking that it is Fijian. Any thoughts to it's country of origin and what the patterns may represent? Thanks.

Uncle Trav,
It is Fijian.
Fijian tapa is my favorite, the patterns are so intricate and I love their bold use of the darker color hand painted over the printed parts. Its an unusual shape for a tourist piece which is referred to as "handicraft" so it may actually be a piece that was made as a gift for a wedding.

WOW!! Thanks for the fast reply. Always good to have a little background info to go with the collection. Thanks for your help.

Posted in tiki finds, but here it goes...

Found another large Tapa on Sunday, this one is 8'x9' different design than I have seen before?

PTD

WOW, PDT, you are a magnet for giant Tapa Cloths!

You just seem to trip over them!

Another one today...

PTD

Another one today...

PTD

Some people have all the luck...

I wish I would've found one like that. I needed it for my tiki room.

Nice finds PTD. Your truly are the king of finding tapa.