Feather Cape
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1861
label: Collection Date
content: 1829
name: label: Collector
content: Commodore William C. Bolton
label: Donor Name
content: National Institute
notes: label: Notes
content: This cape or ahuula was not collected by Wilkes during the U.S. Exploring Expedition. The catalogue card attribution to Wilkes is an error. The original Anthropology ledger book entry for the cape identifies the collector as "Com. Bolton." William Compton Bolton Finch (he changed his name to William Compton Bolton in 1833) visited Hawaii in Oct. - Nov. 1829 as Captain of the U.S.S. Vincennes, and met King Kamehameha III and other members of the royal family while he was there. Bolton died in 1849 and his widow married Charles Wilkes in 1854. Reference: Stewart, Charles Samuel.1832. A visit to the South Seas: on the United States' ship Vincennes, during the years 1829 and 1830 ; including scenes in Brazil, Peru, Manilla, the Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena. London: Colburn and Bentley. The Vincennes visit to Hawaii is described in detail in Volume 2 of that publication. Some documentation for this cape is filed in the National Anthropological Archives, see: Smithsonian Department of Anthropology Records 1877-1980: Series 17, Division of Ethnology, manuscript and pamphlet files: Box 20, Folder 274, "Hawaiian Islands". The NAA documentation (a copy of which has been filed in the Department of Anthropology Collections Lab accession file) includes a letter from William Compton Bolton, dated April 22, 1848, addressed to his sister Miss Elizabeth Bolton, where William Compton Bolton talks about the acquisition of the cape. He says: "The feather cape in your possession was presented to me in 1829 whilst I commanded the Vincennes in the Pacific. It was worn by the present King Tamahamaha [sic, this should be Kamehameha], then a youth, on a very high ceremonial occasion, the examination of the public schools; and, bestowed in compliment to myself and officer's interest in the improvement of the native youth; and our presence and examination of their advancement. The whole incidents of the day are contained in Mr. Stewart's book "A Visit to the South Sea" of which, however, I have not a copy." In addition to the letter, and typed transcription of the letter, the file also contains an old handwritten exhibit label for the cape, which indicates it was "Pr. [presented] to the National Gallery Jany. 10, 1848 by Miss Elizabeth Bolton." This information re the 1848 donation to the National Gallery is also noted on the Bolton letter. Note that "The National Gallery" was a name sometimes used for the National Institute. This cape was catalogued into the Smithsonian collections in 1867, at the same time and in the same catalogue number series as the U.S. Exploring Expedition/Wilkes collection. The Wilkes collection was formerly deposited in the National Institute, and was part of the "45 WAGON LOADS OF COLLECTIONS, SPECIMENS OF NATURAL HISTORY, CASTS, BOOKS, ETC. PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE TRANSFERRED FROM THE PATENT OFFICE" to the Smithsonian in 1861. On the presumption that the Bolton cape was also part of the National Institute collections, and was transferred to the Smithsonian at the same time as the Wilkes collection, the Bolton cape has been listed under the National Institute accession number of 135, for the year 1861. Bolton indicates the cape was a gift to him from Kamehameha III. Note, however, that on p. 178 of Stewart volume 2, there is a description of Kamehameha III's sister Princess Harieta Nahi'ena'ena giving a feather cape she was wearing to Bolton (cape is described on p. 176 as black and crimson on a yellow ground). Reference: Brigham, William Tufts. 1899. Hawaiian feather work. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, Fig. 83, p. 69, and described on p. 68. Identified there as cape of o'o feathers with crescents and semicrescents of iiwi feathers, and a central crescent of black o'o feathers. Cervical and frontal border of red, black and yellow. Length, 16 inches; neck, 16 inches; base 66 inches.
label: Notes
content: From card: "Presented to Com. Bolton by King Kamahamaha [sic, should be King Kamehameha, i.e. Kamehameha III]. The foundation of the cape is a net-work of olona, or "native hemp," and to it are attached by means of fine threads of the same material, the feathers of native birds, found only at the Hawaiian Islands. The feathers overlap each other and lie flat, forming a smooth surface. The upper and lateral borders, which are corded with a string of the olona, are decorated with alternate tufts of red, black, and yellow feathers. The ground work is yellow, ornamented on the back, three-and-a-half-inches below the upper border, with a crescent of black, and three inches below that with a large crescent of red feathers. In front, are two crescents of red, one above the other one galf of each crescent being on either margin, and they form the full crescents when the cape is closed in front. The inner surface is without lining and shows the olona new net-work and the quill ends of the feathers. The cord of the upper border is prolonged to answer for a fastening at the throat. The yellow and black feathers are obtained from the oo or uho (mohoa nobilis). The yellow feathers are of great value as the bird is comparatively rare, very shy, and far too difficult to capture; it has out a very small tuft of these feathers upon each shoulder. Its general plumage is of a glossy black, and from the breast and back are obtained the black feathers. The oo is taken alive, by means of bird-lime; the yellow feathers are then plucked, and the bird released. The red". (This is the bottom of the card. The sentence appears to be cut off, but the subsequent card is missing from the catalog card file.)
label: Notes
content: Ahu'ula, feathered cape, olona fiber (Touchardia latifolia), feathers from 'i'iwi (Vestiaria coccinea) and 'o'o (Moho nobilis).
label: Notes
content: Object was on display in National Museum of Natural History exhibit "Na Mea Makamae o Hawai'i - Hawaiian Treasures", 2004-2005.
label: Notes
content: On p. 16 of National Institute for the Promotion of Science, Washington, D.C. A Popular Catalogue of the Extraordinary Curiosities In the National Institute, Arranged In the Building Belonging to the Patent Office. Washington: A. Hunter, 1855, this object is listed as # 912, "Feather cape worn on occasions of ceremony by King Tamehamaha [sic] when a youth, presented by him to Com. Bolton, U.S.N., 1829. ... "
label: Record Last Modified
content: 29 Mar 2023
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Hawaii (Hawaiʻi), United States, Polynesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Hawaiian (Kanaka ʻŌiwi, Kanaka Maoli)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 000135
label: USNM Number
content: E3574-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Cape
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 55.2 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 92 cm
label: Depth - Object
content: 0.9 cm