By Christina Hellmich ART on view Feathers were greatly held in esteem. They were the greatest treasure above all other Hawaiian treasures. 72 David Malo (1793–1853) Native Hawaiian historian FIG. 1 (above): Cape, ‘ahu ‘ula. Hawaiian Islands. 19th century. Red ‘i‘iwi (Vestiaria coccinea) feathers, yellow and black ‘o‘o (Moho nobilis) feathers, olona (Touchardia latifolia) fi ber. 41.3 x 78.7 cm. Provenance: Honorable Levi Ha‘alelea; Mrs. Elizabeth Coney Renjes by descent; March 1941 loan to Honolulu Academy of Arts (now Honolulu Museum of Art); 1964 gift from Mrs. Andrew I. McKee, New London, Connecticut. Honolulu Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Andrew I. McKee, 1964, 3306.1. Royal Hawaiian Featherwork Na Hulu Ali‘i Organized in partnership with the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, and highlighting its featherwork collection, which is rarely exhibited outside Hawai‘i, the fi rst exhibition of na hulu ali‘i in the continental United States is now on view at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. It includes seventy-six rare examples of the fi nest historic Hawaiian featherwork in existence, as well as related eighteenth- and nineteenthcentury paintings and works on paper depicting these garments being worn. It is completed by special loans of relevant bird specimens from the California Academy of Sciences. For centuries, feathers from vibrantly colored endemic birds were valuable cultural resources on the Hawaiian Islands. Spectacular garments painstakingly constructed by hand, including ‘ahu ‘ula (long cloaks and short capes), mahiole (helmets), and lei hulu (lei), were masterfully covered in these feathers and symbolized the divinity and power of the ali‘i (chiefs)—ruling men and women who wore them for spiritual protection and to proclaim their identity and social status. They were family heirlooms and symbols of legitimacy.1 These unique valuables were also conveyed as objects of diplomacy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to secure political alliances and agreements. They were given as gifts of friendship and sympathy during the Kamehameha dynasty (1810–1872). The fewer than three hundred extant examples of these garments shape our knowledge about the art form known as na hulu ali‘i (royal feathers).
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