The ancient craft of creating bark cloth is shared by numerous cultures around the world. In Samoa, this textile tradition has been passed down for generations and is an integral component of gift exchange. The textile we see here is a prime example of a siapo tasina, a type of bark cloth (siapo) that has...

Tapa, a general term used to describe Polynesian bark cloth, is made from the inner bark of the Broussonetia tree that has been hand beaten, scraped, pressed, and patterned to create printed cloth. In Samoa, two methods are used to produce large pieces of printed bark cloth. One method consists of pasting smaller strips of...

            This woman’s ceremonial dance skirt from the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reflects the rich artistic textile traditions of a diverse kingdom inhabiting the fertile lands between the Kasai and Sankuru Rivers in Sub-Saharan Central Africa. Kuba cloth is made from woven raffia fiber derived...

This ornate and delicate nineteenth century blouse (camisa) from the Philippines made of piña cloth is a testament to the unique and rich textile traditions of this former Spanish colony. The use of piña cloth dates back as early as the mid-sixteenth century, near the dawn of Spanish rule in the Philippines. The production of...