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`Iolani Palace Collections
"Most Wanted" List
Plans are underway to fully restore the King's Bedroom, Queen's Bedroom and the Music Room. After more than 40 years of searching, some of the largest pieces of furniture are still missing. The location of the ebony and gilt bed, dresser, and wardrobe ordered for King Kalakaua's bedroom from the A.H. Davenport Company of Boston remains unknown.
If you think you may have original furniture or articles from the Palace collections, or have information about their whereabouts, please contact the Curator, The Friends of `Iolani Palace.
Most Wanted
Click on photo to see larger version. Historic photos are from the Hawai'i State Archives.
Also:
Spelter statues: Spelter is a metal alloy made with zinc. It was a popular inexpensive substitute for bronze in the late nineteenth century. Cast spelter statues were often patinated or painted to emulate bronze.
A figure from a Grand Hall wall niche has yet to be located. Smaller statues were scattered throughout the Palace, including those displayed on wall brackets in the King's Bedroom and Library.
Historic photos: Monarchy era photos of Palace rooms, people, and events provide valuable information about original Palace furnishings. The Palace curator's office references many such photos to identify original palace objects or items having a royal connection. If you have a photo that may help with this research, please contact the Curator.
Historic photos may help you identify or begin to ask questions about objects that you have or know about. See also: Historic Photos for samples of such photos.
Furniture from the Davenport order: 225 pieces of furniture were ordered from A.H. Davenport Co. of Boston during construction of the new Palace. The four bedrooms on the second floor were each decorated with similar pieces of furniture, in different woods and upholstery fabrics. The King’s Bedroom was decorated in light blue with ebony and gilt furniture. The Queen’s Bedroom furniture was in red with furniture of mahogany and gilt. Furnishings for the other bedrooms were made of walnut (central bedroom) and cherry (front bedroom), having drapery and upholstery fabric in lemon yellow and olive green respectively.
See Davenport Furniture for more detail on these and other pieces.See also Most Wanted - Furniture for items that show marks and patterns that could identify furniture items and Historic Photos for pictures of Palace rooms containing the furniture. The following items are on the "wanted" list:
- Kalakaua's bedroom suite, which was gilded and made of ebonized wood
- Bedroom side chairs (9 missing)
- Bedroom square and round chairs (2 missing)
- Dressers (2 missing)
- Wardrobes (3 missing)
Works on paper: The Royal Chamberlain issued many invitations, menus, dance cards, place cards, and other works on paper for Palace events. See Works on Paper for items that show marks and patterns that could identify these.
Military accessories: When Kalakaua became King, one of his first acts was to reestablish the Hawaiian military, including the Royal Guard and several other companies. Many military items, such as uniforms, hats, swords, patches, buttons, and other accessories from the Guard and other companies are still in private hands. See Military Accessories for items that show marks and patterns that could identify these.
Other Objects, furnishings and artifacts: For additional information on marks, insignia, and motifs that may help identify Palace objects, see Iolani Palace Collections - Identifying Marks. See the following for additional information on other Palace objects and furnishings: