A taster of the British Museum's Hawaii show in three objects

"The accompanying catalogue for Hawai' i: a Kingdom Crossing Oceans features more than 150 works, from ancient Hawaiian treasures to important contemporary pieces, telling "a compelling story of movement, allyship and cultural exchange [between the UK and Hawaii]". An inventory of the entire collection of Native Hawaiian works housed at the British Museum, the largest collection outside of Hawaii, is included in the catalogue."

"Created for a high-ranking chief, this exquisite garment would have mobilised multiple groups of experts; these include the bird catchers who collected feathers from upland forest birds before releasing them-allowing the feathers to grow back in time for the next harvest-and the workers who assembled the feathers into small bundles before affixing them onto a net made of olonā, a plant of the nettle family and endemic to Hawaii."

A major exhibition at the British Museum (15 January–25 May) presents more than 150 Hawaiian works spanning ancient treasures and contemporary pieces that trace movement, allyship and cultural exchange between Hawaii and the UK. The British Museum holds the largest collection of Native Hawaiian works outside Hawaii, and an inventory records these holdings. The show highlights a mid–late 18th-century 'ahu 'ula cloak of hundreds of thousands of tiny feathers tied to an olonā net, produced by bird catchers and assemblers who allowed feathers to regrow between harvests. Research indicates the cloak was likely gifted by High Chief Kahekili of Maui to British captain Charles Clerke on 26 November 1778 during Captain Cook's third voyage. Portraits by John Hayter of Kamehameha II and Queen Kamāmalu were painted when they visited London.

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