Unknown Maker, Hawaiian

Indian printed cottons may have been the source for this design, while the decorative repeat patterning is achieved by two methods thought to be unique to Hawaii. The striped elements are stamped with a liner (lapa), a long strip of bamboo upon which several carved bamboo cross­ sections have been arranged in a pattern. The liner is dipped into paint and pressed onto dry, bleached barkcloth. An individual bamboo stamp is used to fill the ground between the stripes with scattered circular motifs.