Hawai'i

Discover Hawai?i's indigenous culture, history and enduring relationship with foreign nations through a series of fascinating objects. Published to accompany a major exhibition, Hawai?i explores the Museum's rich and seldom-seen collection of early Native Hawaiian objects alongside key works from national and international collections. At the core of this publication is the story of the relationship between Hawai?i and Great Britain, revealed through key historical events that influenced the fate of the Hawaiian nation. The exhibition and publication mark 200 years since the expedition of 1824-6 and the visit of King Liholiho, Queen Kam?malu and their delegation to London to seek audience with George IV. The extraordinary artistry of Native Hawaiian makers and artists past and present is revealed through an amazing selection of objects, including ahu'ula cloaks, exquisitely made by weaving, binding and knotting together the feathers of honeyeater and honeycreeper birds; an akua hulu manu feathered figurehead depicting a god, with a startling gaze that would have been carried in procession on important occasions; and carved wooden bowls inlaid with pearl shell. Prints made at the time record the visit to Britain by the delegation from Hawai?i in 1824-6 and evidence the reception they received, while other more recent artworks highlight objects as continued presences and resources for the Hawaiian community today.