THE HONOLULU CABINET queen liliuokalani vtg hawaiian music art museum la pietra

Description

Queen Liliuokalani's music cabinet. Circa. 1899. From the estate of
Barbara Cox Anthony (1922-2007) by way of
La Pietra
partner, Lorraine Day Cooke (1919-1977) by way of Anna Rice Cooke (1853-1934) by way of
Queen Liliuokalani (1838-1917) by way of Queen Victoria (1819-1901).
The summation of Aloha Oe is displayed on the cabinet's face. The
SHE
on the cabinet's backboard
very specifically
refers to a musically-gifted female monarch from a tiny island kingdom.
SHE
was robbed of her throne and imprisoned in the tower of a royal palace (Princess Catrin Glynd
ŵ
r. The Tower of London). Our 3rd photo above is a copy of the original
HENRY IV
sketch as provided by the government of Great Britain.
PROVENANCE:
The cabinet's discovery coincides with the death and vicinity of Mrs. Barbara Cox Anthony. Working backward from Mrs. Anthony, those with a better grasp of Hawaiian history might come up with a more logical path back to Liliuokalani? We have not seen the monarchy auction records but are told this cabinet does not appear in those documents. We believe this means Liliuokalani entrusted it to someone. She gave the cabinet to someone she trusted. Who?!
Mrs. Anthony resided on the upper slopes of Diamond Head and passed away in May of 2007
after a lengthy illness
.
We
found this cabinet at a thrift store on the mauka side of Diamond Head in December of 2006.
Putting her affairs in order, it would appear that the ailing Anthony unwittingly discarded the most-prized possession of the last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A gift from
Queen Victoria. Hawaii's 'Resolute Desk'.
It's been 15yrs since this piece came out of hiding. The Pacific Club and post-1969 La Pietra can all but be ruled out because, over their long histories, both institutions have had many thousands of people pass through their doors. These are upbeat, celebratory, social institutions and most people bring their cameras to these properties, yet, after 15yrs, not even one photo (with this cabinet in the background) has emerged. That being said, The Pacific Club, La Pietra, The Dillinghams, Punahou Schools and Mrs. Anthony all shared the same curatorial service (they held/hold curated museum collections).
Hawaii's termites & salt air destroy wood & metal. This cabinet is in 'museum condition' with no rust to the metal and it still retains its original 120yr old finish. For the better part of the last century, this cabinet has been under strict curatorial care: away from children and out of sunlight. Does it bypass all persons listed above and come directly from the Honolulu Academy of the Arts? Museum to thrift store? Did that happen?!
Aloha 'Oe's
na pua rose
is synonymous with
the children of Hawaii
. On the cabinet's face we see the crowned bird (the queen) delighting to beauty of the Maunawili rose blossom
(the children of Hawaii).
In 1917 Liliuokalani gifted her entire estate to
the
children of Hawaii.
At that same time, Cooke's mission statement was to open a museum
very specifically
for "
the
children of Hawaii".
They were like-minded.
Did Liliuokalani gift her music cabinet to Honolulu's
p
atron of the arts
and
artifact preserver, Anna Rice Cooke?
And be
sure to visit our eBay store where we are currently offering several other hugely important and historically significant pieces of Art. The first man to the moon's 1st appearance in Space, a five pound sterling silver "
Bug Basket
" from Buckingham Palace, an artifact from
The White House
and Porcellian Club (the birthplace of Facebook), and an 1885 New York City "Sitting Bull"
Cigar Store Indian
are but a few of our most interesting pieces.
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