Hawaiian Kapa

Name/Title

Hawaiian Kapa

Entry/Object ID

MK_0001

Description

This exquisite piece is one of fourteen kapas created by renowned Hawaiian kapa artist Malia Solomon, commissioned by hotel founder Laurance Rockefeller in the mid-1960s, when he developed the hotel. Solomon utilized antique, undyed kapa, traditionally crafted from the bark of the Mulberry tree and estimated to be over 100 years old by the time Solomon acquired it. Employing natural vegetable and earth dyes, she stamped the cloth with a distinctive split, asymmetric crosshatch motif in reddish-brown and black pigments, crafting a stunning and historically accurate Hawaiian kapa design - a homage to this centuries-old Hawaiian art form. This treasured piece has been in the Mauna Kea's collection since 1965, when Laurance Rockefeller developed the hotel, and was very recently restored and reframed.

Made/Created

Artist

Malia Solomon

Date made

circa 1965

Place

State/Province

Hawai'i

Country

U.S.A.

Continent

North America

Dimensions

Height

82 in

Length

55 in

Height

90 in

Length

60 in

Location

Area

Lobby Elevator Breezeway

Floor

Lobby Level

Building

Main Tower

* Untyped Location

Storage Shed

Floor

7th Floor

Building

Main Tower

Room

Kamani Room

Building

HBR Main Tower

Area

Main Lobby

Floor

Lobby Level

Building

Main Tower

Floor

7th Floor

Building

Main Tower