Bark paper

MFA Acc. #: 1976.482

Description

Thin, flexible sheets obtained from the smooth, white, inner surface of tree bark usually from one of the following trees: birch (genus Betula), mulberry paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), or breadfruit (genus Artocarpus). Bark paper, also called bark cloth, has been used in many cultures. Polynesian bark cloth, called tapa, is cut in thin strips from the inner bark of the breadfruit tree, then beat to form a thin flexible cloth. Amatl, made by the Aztecs and huun, made by the Maya, are other types of cloth prepared by soaking then beating the bark sheets to form thin paper.

Synonyms and Related Terms

bark cloth, amatl; tapa; huun; tissu en fibre d'corce (Fr.);amatle (Esp.)

Additional Information

S. Turner, Which Paper?, 1981.

Authority

• Hermann Kuhn, Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986

• Silvie Turner, Silvie Turner, Which Paper?, Design Press, New York, 1991

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000