Objects
‘Barkcloth’
Early – mid 20th century
Fibres
Barkcloth shirts were made from the inner bark of the breadfruit tree, paper mulberry or banyan tree. This shirt was produced by beating the soaked fibres with a wooden mallet till it turned into a thick, pulpy, felt-like layer. The dried barkcloth was then decorated with beads, shells and cotton.
Barkcloth has been used in Southeast Asia since the Neolithic period, over 4000 years ago. The beaters used to make barkcloths have been found in Neolithic sites dating to the 1st and 2nd century BCE. This particular shirt was made and used by the Dayaks (an indigenous tribe in Borneo) on ceremonial occasions.
Traditionally, barkcloths were more commonly used by communities isolated from trading centres, or where more convenient and comfortable options such as cotton were not readily available.
