![]() ![]() It was considered the museums most precious item by the institution's founder, Eugène Pittard. Geneva Ethnography Museum displays an early 19th-century cloak on its permanent exhibition. ![]() Īuckland Museum acquired a cloak for its collection in 1948. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa believes that one of these cloaks was placed on Captain James Cook by the Hawaiian chief Kalani’ōpu’u. All were gifts of Lord St Oswald in 1912. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has three ʻahu ʻula in its collection. The National Museums of Scotland show a feather cloak that was given in 1824 from King Kamehameha II of Hawaii to Frederich Gerald Byng thanking for his service in London. The British Museum has three of these cloaks. The de Young Museum in San Francisco displayed several of these cloaks in a special exhibition in 2015. This bright red and yellow cloak was given to the king of Kauaʻi, Kaumualiʻi, when he became a vassal to Kamehameha I in 1810, uniting all the islands into the Kingdom of Hawaii. Bishop Museum in Honolulu has a 200-year-old mahiole and matching cloak. They are now in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.Ĭook's mahiole and cloak are featured in episode 52 of the mini-documentary television series Tales from Te Papa. The mahiole and cloak were then purchased by Charles Winn along with a number of other items and these remained in his family until 1912, when Charles Winn's grandson, Rowland Winn, 2nd Baron St Oswald, gave them to the Dominion of New Zealand. The mahiole and cloak were purchased by the collector William Bullock who exhibited them in his own museum until 1819 when the collection was again sold. He eventually sold the collection in 1806 in 7,000 separate sales. The collection was obtained by James Parkinson who continued to exhibit it, at the Blackfriars Rotunda in London. Lever went bankrupt and his collection was disposed of by public lottery. ![]() It was while at this museum that Cook's mahiole and cloak were borrowed by artist Johann Zoffany in the 1790s and included in his painting The Death of Captain James Cook. He exhibited them in his museum, the Holophusikon. Much of the material from Cook's voyages including the helmet and cloak ended up in the collection of Sir Ashton Lever. Kalaniʻōpuʻu also laid several other cloaks at Cook's feet as well as four large pigs and other offerings of food. At the end of the meeting Kalaniʻōpuʻu placed the feathered mahiole and cloak he had been wearing on Cook. When British explorer James Cook visited in Hawai‘i on 26 January 1778 he was received by a high chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu. The feather cape given to Captain Cook on display at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi ʻAhu ʻula given to Captain James Cook, 1778 Bundles were tied in close proximity to form a uniform covering of the surface of the cloak. A small bundle of feathers was gathered and tied into the netting. Hundreds of thousands of feathers were required for each cloak. The birds are said to have not been killed but, rather, caught by specialist bird catchers, a few feathers harvested, and the birds then released. Although birds were exploited for their feathers, the effect on the population is thought to be minimal. Both species can still be found in Hawaii, but in much reduced numbers. The distinctive red feathers came from the ʻIʻiwi and the ʻApapane. Black feathers were also sourced from the two species of mamo, which are also now both extinct. All species had become extinct by 1987, with the probable cause being disease. Black and yellow came from four species of bird called ʻōʻōs. The coloring was achieved using different types of feathers. The plant used to make the netting is Touchardia latifolia, a member of the nettle family. The cloaks were constructed using a woven netting decorated with feathers obtained from local birds. One of these cloaks was included in a painting of Cook's death by Johann Zoffany. These cloaks are made from a woven netting decorated with bird feathers and are examples of fine featherwork techniques. At least six of these cloaks were collected during the voyages of Captain Cook. There are over 160 examples of this traditional clothing in museums around the world. The feathered cloaks and capes provided physical protection, and were believed to provide spiritual protection for their wearers. The ʻAhu ʻula ( feather cloak in the Hawaiian language), and the mahiole (feather helmet) were symbols of the highest rank of the chiefly aliʻi class of ancient Hawaii. The ʻIʻiwi The Death of Captain James Cook
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