natural pigments on mulberry bark cloth

A large-scale tapa cloth or Ngatu from Tonga measuring over 4 metres long and depicting traditional motifs such as the sea eagle (ikale tahi), Norfolk pines (hala paini), the Tongan royal crest and symbols of the royal family. This tapa cloth had been on long-term exhibition and had accumulated considerable surface dust, as well as some minor tears and damage to the delicate material. The object was now being stored away during renovation of its display.
To support and preserve the work for storage and handling, we:

• conducted surface cleaning of the front and back

• constructed a custom padded roll and supports

• rolled the object onto the roll and wrapped it for storage