Amate Bark Brown

Made from the inner bark of certain trees, the main being the wild fig tree or 'amate'.
Amate bark paper has been manufactured in Mexico since ancient times. It was used primarily to create Mayan codices (folding books) written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Maya hieroglyphic script. These books were the products of professional scribes working under the patronage of deities such as the Tonsured Maize God and the Howler Monkey Gods.
After the Spanish conquest, its production was mostly banned and it was replaced by European paper. Production never completely died, nor did the rituals associated with it. It remained strongest in the rugged, remote mountainous areas. Spiritual leaders were described as producing paper with "magical" properties. Foreign academics began studying this ritual use of Amate in the mid-20th century, and the Otomi people of the area began producing the paper commercially.

*As this is a handmade product, variation of colour and size may occur from batch to batch.

600 x 800mm / 160 gsm