Bark Cloth Stamp

Slender, flat bamboo stick with one side undecorated, the opposite side is carved in relief at one end. There are three carved elements in a line; they resemble sets of four diagonal lines.

These stamps resemble Hawaiian ʻohe kapala. Carved bamboo stamps (ʻohe kapala) were a primary tool used to print small geometric motifs. The decorative elements of Hawaiian bark cloth (kapa) incorporated a distinctive system of surface decoration that relied heavily on stamping and painting rather than immersion dyeing. Color was applied to finished bark cloth using plant-based and mineral pigments, with designs either painted freehand, guided by stencils, or impressed through stamping.

Individual stamps often have names associated with the specific motifs that were carved. The meanings attributed to these patterns were not fixed but instead were shaped by the interpretations of the maker, the wearer, and the cultural contexts of particular communities.

The collector, C.D. Voy, indicated that these stamps were found in Samoa as mentioned in his catalogue, "Wooden stamps, made of bamboo, used for stamping small patterns on native cloth or tapa by native women of Samoa, S.P."