AN exhibition at the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby will give an insight into the lives of Polynesians.
Fashion and Fibres: Island Dress in Polynesia, will be on show until November 1, and will detail how local materials such as bark, leaves and plant fibres were used to create delicate fabrics.
Much of the fabric was given to Cook and the voyagers as gifts, and the exhibition displays a variety of garments and costume, and explores Pacific-European interaction in the century after the Voyages.
The exhibition also features an embroidered waistcoat made by Cook’s wife which she made from Polynesian barkcloth. He did not survive to wear it and it remains unfinished.
Alison Larkin, an expert embroiderer, examined the original and has made a full reconstruction for the exhibition using authentic tapa cloth.
Dr Sophie Forgan, chairman of the museum’s trustees said “We believe Fashion and Fibres is special for anyone interested in textile crafts and design.”
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