The Work of Early Hawaiian Artisans

The work of Hawaiian artisans at the time of Western contact was woven seamlessly into their everyday lives and culture—the details of which are now lost. Although we can no longer comprehend the objects left to us with the same depth of understanding as early Hawaiians, we can appreciate their aesthetic qualities and the skill used in their construction, particularly when numerous pieces of the same type are viewed together. Links to the Past: The Work of Early Hawaiian Artisans, by Wendy S. Arbeit, makes this possible by reuniting more than a thousand eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Hawaiian artifacts from over seventy institutions and collections worldwide.

November 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3476-0 / $75.00 (CLOTH)