**First Time At Auction**

North Pacific, Hawaiian Islands, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden tapa beater exhibiting a tapered handle and a cuboid beating head. The center of the shaft is indented, and each flat, triangular face is incised with a series of vertical grooves and attached to the handle is a braided vegetal fiber cord. Tapa is a particular kind of bark cloth that is made by pounding the fibers using a wooden beater such as this. The cloth is of great social importance and is often given as a gift, but it once - before synthetic fabrics replaced it - was used as everyday wear; today it is worn only at special occasions such as weddings. Size: 14" L x 2" W (35.6 cm x 5.1 cm)

Provenance: private San Marcos, Texas, USA collection, acquired in Hawaii in the 1940s by grandmother Alberta Wilberger

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#169930

Abrasions, pressure fissures, with nicks and chips throughout. Heavy patina to wood. Some fraying to cord near knotted ends.