Saturday, February 06, 2016

Is this a real Fijian design?

The picture below was posted on facebook, but I wonder if it is really a Fijian design from Cakakudrove because I have never ever seen a design like this.  Perhaps it was made by a vavalagi having a go at painting on masi.

This striking Cakaudrove masi was acquired by a European collector in the 1870's. It was displayed a few years ago as part of an exhibition called 'Tapa: Barkcloth paintings from the Pacific' in Birmingham, U.K.. Many thanks to the Fijian Art Research Project for allowing us to access this Fijian heritage online. Has anyone seen a piece of masi like this here in Fiji?

2 comments:

  1. Say, that pattern might be great for a new flag!
    (Just kidding).
    I've never seen anything like that. I'm amazed it is so old.

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  2. Hello Pandabonium, long time since I looked at your blog etc. These days I do more on facebook than on babasiga. Best wishes to you and your family. Fiji is having a rough time today and it's surely a huge hurricane they are experiencing. Taveuni copped it bad it seems.

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