ART on view 80 Tonga is one of the largest producers of barkcloth in the Pacifi c today. Sheets of cloth are printed by groups of women working with design tablets made of leaf strips, and motifs relate to the Tongan monarchy, historical events, and introduced technologies such as bicycles and airplanes. At life cycle events and royal occasions such as coronations, barkcloth is worn as clothing, piles of cloth are presented as gifts, and a single cloth of extraordinary length may form a pathway for important guests. A richly decorated ngatu celebrating a historic episode that is a source of national pride was displayed in Shifting Patterns (fi g. 15). During World War II, Queen Salote (reigned 1918–65) of Tonga personally sponsored the purchase of spitfi res for the Allied war effort as a demonstration of loyalty to the British Crown. Each airplane bears the Queen’s name and is painted on a rubbed pattern of concentric diamonds, refl ecting the bindings securing the roof beams of the monarch’s house. The sur-
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