I'm building a pair of thrones to be used as props in a play. The
director wants the thrones to closely match the thrones of King
Kalakaua and his sister (and successor), Queen Lili`uokalani, the last
two monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which are on display in the
Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the United States). You may
see a low-resolution photo of these thrones at
http://www.iolanipalace.org/visit/grand.html.

I've cropped, zoomed, and enhanced that photo in a high-quality image
editing program, but many of the finer details of the thrones are too
blurry. I believe that the effectiveness of a prop lies in the
details, and I want the details to be faithful. I would rather have a
higher quality image that I could use as a guide, rather than trying
to interpret blurs or make up details myself.

I've found several photos which were LESS helpful, but I haven't been
able to locate a photo which gives clear details of one of the
thrones.

This question may be answered simply with a link to a good-quality
image of either of these thrones which imparts visual details as
viewed from about six feet away.

---

Clarification of Question by davidfilmer-ga on 27 Jan 2006 16:30 PST

I also posted this question in the soc.culture.hawaii newsgroup and a
kind reader supplied this interesting link:
   
   http://starbulletin.com/98/11/19/news/story1.html

It's better (and rather close to what I need) - it's not quite as good
as I would like, and would be interested to find a better one.

Sorry...this is only slightly better:
http://www.hawaiimuseums.org/flash/scaled300/iolani_throne200.jpg

I think your project is worthy of contacting the Museum Curator, who
no doubt has access to better images, or can take pictures for you and
send them to you directly.

Here ya go, it's worth a call:
http://www.iolanipalace.org/contact/index.html
Curator & Collections Curator - (808) 522-0834
Collections Manager - (808) 522-0838

I would start with the Curator who would likely be more sympathetic
and understand your desire to be faithful to history, the Collections
Manager would be more business oriented.

Take a few minutes before you call and make notes about any key points
that might make the Curator want to assist. Don't forget to mention
your fruitless search on the Internet (and print sources) ...and offer
to credit the Museum in the play's "Program" given to the audience.

The Museum's Mission Statement is:
http://www.iolanipalace.org/friends/index.html
..."To preserve, restore, interpret, share, and celebrate the unique
cultural, historical, and spiritual qualities of `Iolani Palace and
its grounds for the benefit of native Hawaiians, the people of
Hawai`i, and the world..."

I think this is your best bet. If this is sucessful, please let me
know so I can post this suggestion as an Answer...

~~Cynthia

Here are a few photographs. Not one of them is absolutely perfect, but
they should definitely give you a better idea of what the thrones look
like, especailly if you are trying to re-create them. Copy and paste
into your browser:

http://starbulletin.com/98/11/19/news/art.gif 

http://starbulletin.com/97/04/23/news/wild.gif

http://starbulletin.com/97/04/23/news/wildb.gif

-Mike Neuman

cynthia-ga wrote:
>>> I think your project is worthy of contacting the Museum Curator

What a utopian view! Actually, I sent an e-mail to the Museum on the
same date I posted my GA question. The Museum has completely ignored
me.

FWIW, these thrones are not actually owned by Iolani Palace, but by
the Bishop Museum (on long-term loan to the Palace). Neither curator
seems to have any interest whatsoever in assisting me, and has not
even given me the courtesy of a reply to my inquiry.

Actually, I didn't expect any reply. I have NEVER contacted a museum
and gotten any reply about any inquiry I have ever made.  Their phony
"mission statements" are designed to attract donors, not persons who
are actually interested in sharing their pursuits.

Here is the text I sent, which they ignored:

Hello!

I am building replicas of the thrones of King Kalakaua and Queen
Lili`uokalani (as seen on your website:
http://www.iolanipalace.org/visit/grand.html) to be used as props in a
play.  I want to be as faithful as possible to the magnificant
artistry of these thrones - I think they are the most beautiful
thrones I've ever seen, and I want to really try to capture that
beauty as much as my limited talents will allow.

Unfortunately, I have had an extremely difficult time finding
good-quality images of the thrones to use as guides. I was referred to
a 1998 news article about a rather unfortunate incident
(http://starbulletin.com/98/11/19/news/story1.html) which has the best
photo I've seen, but it's still not really clear enough on many
details.

Is it possible that you could refer me to a high-quality image, or
prehaps even send me one? The news article mentioned that photographic
records are carefully maintained - one of these images would be
immensely beneficial to my efforts.

Also, there is one important detail that I don't think any photo can
impart - I'm having a hard time judging the size of the thrones,
lacking any fixed & known reference.  If you could at least tell me
the overall height and width, it would be most helpful!  I'm guessing
six feet tall at the apex, and 32 inches wide at the seat base, but
that's pure guesswork!  I could easily be off a foot or two!

I sincerely appreciate any assistance you may be able to provide!

Thank You,

David Filmer, Portland, Oregon

The Iolani Palace film and photo policy, this could be leading to your
problem of quality photographs.
Photography, Filming and Videotaping

The Friends of `Iolani Palace reserves the right to deny any request
for photography that is judged to be inconsistent with the integrity
and identity of the site as a cultural and educational organization.
Personal Use

Visitors are welcome to photograph the `Iolani Palace exterior and
grounds for personal use; however, photography and video are not
permitted inside the Palace during regular hours. Souvenir guidebooks,
postcards and videos may be purchased in the Palace Shop.

Ive already contacted the shop there at the palace, and they do not
have a closeup postcard of the thrones. But they may have a book with
a close up photo of the thrones. Darryl is looking into it for me and
will call me back. Just another option for you. Lemme know if this
answers your question and Ill will repost there. THen theres always
these

http://www.iolanipalace.org/images/throne.jpg

http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/state/hi/hi53.gif

http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/state/hi/hi312.gif
and one to scale the rest of the room

so i hope this helps and wins me my $10 or whatevers.

just got back off the phone w/ Darryl and he gave me a book with a
great picture of the thrones on the back the books called "Hawaiian
Monarchy: Kings and Queens" its $6.95, and he can to ship it to the
states first class for about $2.00 he said.
Contact Info
`Iolani Palace - Palace Shop

(808) 532-1050

Fax: (808) 532-1049
or you can try and buy a vinatge postcard off ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6218848383&category=20205

or you can buy a modern postcard off of 
http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/state/hi/haw2dsl.htm
its down at the bottom but # HI53 shows a close up of the thrones and
you can buy it for $3.25

this should close the book on this question and rightfully earn me my
$8.. what do u think

hawaiianhaole,

Unfortunately the only folks here that can post in the Answer Box and
receive payment are the authorized Google Answers Researchers. Any
information you give here is given for free, and posts where people
solicit payment outside the Google Answers system are deleted. This
means all you can receive from David Filmer is a hearty "Thank You!"

And if he fails to say it, I'll say it for him...

THANK YOU!


Reference the FAQ's

What is the difference between a Google Answers Researcher and a registered user? 
http://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html#researchervsuser
..."Google Answers Researchers are screened and approved independent
contractors who are paid for posting "answers" to the site. Registered
users can ask questions and post comments to the site. However, they
cannot post "answers." Users are neither paid for comments that they
post, nor are they charged for comments that are posted to the
questions that they ask..."


It might be helpful to read all the FAQ's... FYI, you can tell the
authorized researchers by their names. Mine is blue and clickable
--I'm an authorized researcher.

~~Cynthia