Tapa maro

Henk Heynes, the first purchaser of this work, was the founder and director of the Technical School in Hollandia, the capital of Papua province in the 1940s – renamed Jayapura in 1968.

Traditionally made and worn around the waist by married women, painted bark loincloths symbolized the passage to adulthood in Lake Sentani societies. Maro bark cloth comes from the bark of a Ficus tree. The outer layer is removed to preserve the inner strip of bark, which is beaten on a stone anvil to flatten the fibers. The resulting piece of fabric, smooth and uniform, is soaked in water and then dried. Our rectangular example, with its beautifully preserved polychromy, is decorated with a repetition of typicalfouw motifs. This is the original motif, present on the very first maro before the appearance of more figurative designs featuring aquatic creatures such as fish, turtles or lizards, or references to the art of fishing. The natural pigments applied to the bark are mixed with water and plant resin. Black(nokoman), made from soot or charcoal, is used to trace spiral patterns on a deep red background(nime-nime or mixed), obtained from earth or red stone. Touches of white pigments(keleuman), made from lime, add brightness to the overall composition.

Price: €1,800