cape
- Museum number
- Oc,+.5897
- Description
-
Kipuka (cape) made of red ʻiʻiwi feathers and yellow and black ʻōʻō feathers, attached in bundles to a fine olonā fibre nae (net). The kipuka has a deeply curved shape and neckline.
The feathers are arranged to form a design of multiple hoaka (crescents): at the centre of the kipuka there is a black hoaka with two smaller yellow hoaka above it. This section sits within a larger red hoaka with four yellow niho (triangles) incorporated at the collar. There is a band of yellow along the outer edge of the kipuka. The neckline is lined with black feathers on the proper left side and red feathers on the proper right side.
The yellow sections are comprised of long and fluffy yellow feathers; a few red feathers are incorporated into each bundle. Along the lower edge of the central hoaka the yellow feathers have been trimmed to create a crisp edge.
The nae is very tightly woven throughout. It is largely one piece with some added sections, notably a triangular section on the proper right side. In sections a blue thread (possibly silk) has been used to tie the feather bundles to the nae.
Along the collar and neckline, the nae folds over a plaited olonā fibre cord and onto the front of the kipuka, creating a raised edge. The fold is covered by bundles of feathers along the collar and neckline. The olonā fibre cord that runs along the neck and collar has not been plaited and is cut at the ends.
- Production date
- 18thC(late)-19thC (before 1892)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 49 centimetres
-
Width: 68.50 centimetres
-
Depth: 0.80 centimetres
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1892
- Acquisition notes
- Historical registration slip reads:
"Presented by A.W.Franks Esq.
9. Nov. 1892
Mrs Harriet Sowley Vinter.
Hawaiian group
Tippet formed of fine network of olonā string, the outer side is covered with small feathers, yellow, red, + black in crescent shaped patterns
“New Zealand cape made of parrot feathers” "
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Oc,+.5897
- Additional IDs
-
CDMS number: Oc1892C2.5897 (old CDMS no.)
-
Miscellaneous number: Brigham catalogue number 37
