All things Tonga - Wood carved design board.

Hand woven Baskets. Tote. Flip flops. Shell weaved container. Any idea what flat and flat round pieces are - hand painted. Hand woven baskets. Lined printed and unlined. A note found inside basket reads hand-woven in Tonga for agricultural missionaries. They were in Tonga 1970s. The original owners found. 1915-2003. Museum donation? Yard sale? Any Tonga experts?.

 

Any ideas @Taupou ?

 

The carved board is a pattern board used to apply the design to tapa (bark cloth). @Taupou will know more.

 

Vintage board pattern 1975-1977.

 

I'm not sure what you are asking.

The rectangular flat pieces are placemats. There is a plaited or woven pandanus one on the left, and a tapa (called ngatu in Tonga) over the top of plaited pandanus on the right, in the first photos. They also make smaller pieces used as decorative items, like the round pieces shown in the additional photos.

The carved wood board is called an upeti in Samoa, and is used in printing tapa cloth. The plain tapa is placed over the board, and rubbed with a dye-covered cloth, to highlight and transfer the design carved on the board. In Tonga, though, they are usually known for producing large lengths of ngatu, using a different method. So the board would probably be used for the placemats rather than the larger pieces.

All the pieces shown are common souvenir items. Handmade, but made primarily for sale to tourists. (Although the handbags and woven totes are commonly used throughout the islands.)

I doubt a museum would be interested in any thing here. There are collectors, though, and I've sold a number of this type of items, but the customer base is probably "rather limited." Most of these would be used as decorator items in a "Tiki" themed room, I'm assuming. Or to someone who has visited the islands, and didn't have room to bring back souvenirs at the time.

 

You are very kind. Thank you for your time and education. Now to find the limited collectors to sell as a lot with the Providence note found I found the board in a Utah Museum. Different pattern. Bless you.

 

They are all 1975-1977 era. From the Island. Tonga.