In the main lobby of Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, you can’t miss the pair of golden, sculpted Buddhist disciples shining in the sun, just as brightly as on the day Laurance S. Rockefeller inaugurated the resort in 1965. These sculptures are among 1,600 museum-quality art pieces that cover 800 years of history, displayed throughout Mauna Kea’s grounds and public areas.

The celebrated collection is the result of a $90,000+ investment on Mr. Rockefeller’s part that included what he referred to as “experting,” a style of recruiting the most informed professionals for a project. Mr. Rockefeller commissioned Davis Allen, a New York-based art aficionado and interior designer, to travel the globe in search of art objects to foster cultural exchange between the East and the West. After an intensive search, Davis acquired a diverse array of art objects, primarily from Asia and Oceania, for the on-property collection.

For 60 years, unrestricted, open-air access to the collection has fostered a personal connection with each piece. Unfortunately, this also resulted in exposure to the elements. An earthquake and other taxing natural events also took their toll, and over time, much of the irreplaceable art had literally lost its shine.

Thanks to the team from Island Eclectic and a handful of other talented artisans, the pair of Buddhist disciples has been restored to their former glory, as have other priceless pieces. The monumental effort to stabilize the acclaimed artwork and protect it from the elements began in 2021. Margo Ray and Scott Yoell, professional artists, expert art handlers, and collection management specialists who co-founded Island Eclectic, began by reframing the entire Hawaiian quilt collection. “To help preserve the quilts, we meticulously cleaned them and re-stretched them on new acid-free stretcher bars, and replaced the old acrylic with museum-grade, UV acrylic for protection,” says Margo, adding that Matsu Kaze Woodworking of Hilo built new frames for 20 restored quilts.

In 1954, Mr. Rockefeller commissioned expert quilter Mealiʻi Kalama and her hui at the Kawaiahaʻo Church on Oʻahu to hand-stitch 30 quilts. Each cherished quilt required more than 1,000 hours of work. In addition to these commissioned quilts, Mealiʻi also gifted Mr. Rockefeller with an additional Hawaiian flag quilt, stitching into the center of it Hawaiʻi’s state motto, “Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ‘Āina I ka Pono,” which translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”

In the 1980s, many of the original quilts needed to be replaced, and Meali‘i once again contributed her artistry to recreating over a dozen of the fading quilts. Her work for the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel marked a pivotal moment in renewing interest in the once-fading art of Hawaiian quilt-making. Meali‘i received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1985, making her the first native Hawaiian to earn this award. However, the Hawaiian quilts were stored away, some for over a decade. 

The sizable scale of the quilt collection that Island Eclectic restored and reframed became apparent when each quilt had to be hand-carried up three flights of stairs to be reinstalled in its original location at the Mauna Kea. “Moving the large, framed quilts was one of the most challenging projects. They were too large to be put in the elevators and had to be carried up piece by piece—frame, acrylic, and mounted quilt—and then assembled on site,” Margo explains. 

After successfully installing the vibrant quilts and restoring them to their place of honor at the heart of the art collection, Island Eclectic turned its focus to the hotel’s bespoke collection of distinct bark cloth from across the Pacific. While the Hawaiian bark cloth, which is known as kapa, was previously restored by the Bishop Museum, the bark cloth from island nations across the Pacific had yet to be restored. 

The bark cloth conservation project began in 2022, involving the framing of nearly 20 large pieces from the historic collection with museum-grade acrylic and custom African mahogany frames, made by Wilkinson Woodworks of Kohala. “We worked with kapa kumu and expert Roen Hufford to gain advice. Susi Watson, our team member and part of Roen’s kapa hui, led the restoration work on the bark cloth from Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga,” says Margo. By January 2023, the last two heavy tapa cloths were restored, carried up four flights of stairs, and carefully hung on the walls of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, ensuring admiration for decades to come. 

“Next was remounting and reframing the Ainu robes. When we took them apart, the front-facing side was sun bleached,” says Margo, explaining that since the traditional robes have been on display for many years, they were bleached by the sun over time. The late-19th-century garments were made by the Ainu, a people native to Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido. It needed to be hand-stitched onto the archival fabric backing to restore each robe. “We were delighted to see the color still intact on the reverse side of each robe. Since it was so close to its original condition, we cleaned and remounted the inverse side.” After the five Ainu robes were mounted under museum-grade, UV acrylic to prevent further sun damage and framed, Scott built an innovative cart to install them. 

Also hailing from Japan are a pair of whimsical votive horse figures, which Susi worked to restore, and several hibachi, which are back on display after receiving wood and copper restoration. The intricately carved and lacquered shrine horses are a testament to the Japanese craftsmanship of the 19th century, as are the stunning, solid hardwood hibachi adorned with copper liners. Crafted to grill meat and fish over hot charcoals, the bowls speak to a rich culinary history.

“When we have art restoration projects out of our area of expertise, our business model is to find someone who does and bring them in on a project,” says Margo of Island Eclectic’s own take on the “experting” that Mr. Rockefeller was so famous for. “Several of the art collection’s pieces, including the two iconic Thai Buddhist figures that greet guests at the hotel’s entrance, have been elegantly re-gilded by the talented Christina Ho, an artist and gild expert based on O‘ahu,” Margo says. Originally from 19th-century Bangkok, the capital of Siam (now Thailand), the gilt and lacquer bronze sculptures represent Mokala, a devoted acolyte of Buddha. Ho restored the gold gilt on the figures to their original gold leaf façade. 

Ho also gilded one of two Thai Hongsa Bird statues. Embellished with inlaid glass detailing, the 20th-century figure now stands proudly, its wings outstretched in majestic splendor. In Thai mythology, the Hongsa most closely resembles a goose or swan known in India as the Hamsa. According to Indian mythology, the Hamsa is a bird of passage associated with the soul’s release from the cycle of life, a fundamental goal in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. In tandem with the second, larger Hongsa in the main lobby, the presence of the Thai Hongsa represents Mr. Rockefeller’s desire to bring awareness to the ancient ways of the East through the resort.

After being restored earlier this year, masks from New Guinea bring Melanesian traditions to life at the Mauna Kea. Originally, the painted basketry masks were crafted by skilled Abelam artisans in the Maprik region of New Guinea. Also back on display is an intriguing ritual house mask from a New Guinea tribe, which once adorned the gable of a ceremonial house in the Black Water region of New Guinea, south of the Sepik River. This mask was crafted from woven basketry, coated with varnish, modeled with clay, and painted with vegetable paste pigments. The art objects of New Guinea have been restored by Susi and are on display in artfully crafted, custom cases built by Kohala Custom Cabinetry and Wilkinson Woodworks.

“All of the 3-D objects in the Mauna Kea’s art collection are being mounted on newly fabricated plinths and the armatures are being custom fabricated in partnership with team member Ethan Froney, an expert blacksmith and metal worker who has a studio at Waimea’s Anna Ranch Heritage Center,” Margo says of the unique stabilization and restoration work that is part of the art conservation projects. This includes a custom-fabricated armature and new plinth for a Yipwon ritual house cult figure from New Guinea’s Karawari region, and a new plinth for a carved Māori canoe prow.

When it came to the contemporary New Zealand Tukutuku panels, Scott took conservation efforts into his own hands. Representing the artistic style of Māori women and the unique contributions they made to traditional arts, the Tukutuku panels were used as decorative walls in village ceremonial houses. Their geometric patterns appear to change when the viewer’s angle of vision shifts. After Scott repaired the panels, which are composed of slats of curved strips of various colored reeds that were lashed to a backing to form geometric patterns, Wilkinson Woodworks handcrafted frames for them to be displayed in.

The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has invested over $1 million in this ongoing restoration initiative, ensuring that these captivating pieces continue to build bridges of cultural understanding for future generations. Currently, the Tansu collection is being restored by Correy Smith of Matsu Kaze Woodworking. Wood chests dating back to the 18th or 19th century in Japan,  tansu are a display of fine cabinetry that reflects a commitment to creating an overall aesthetic by prioritizing detail.

“The large, pink granite Buddha is still in the same location at the top of the staircase, but has a crate built around it to protect it from damage during the renovation,” Margo says of what might be the most well-known, artistically prized piece in the hotel’s collection. In accordance with tradition, the Buddha is positioned with his heart above the level of a man’s eye, atop the promenade stairway to the hotel’s North Garden. “The crate will be removed when the renovation is complete, and we will clean and stabilize the exterior.”

Sculpted and displayed in seventh-century India, this Buddha and three matching sculptures were eventually overturned, buried, and used as cornerstones for a Hindu water tower. Fortunately, at least two of the Buddha were rescued. In addition to the Buddha at the Mauna Kea, another is safely displayed at the Chicago Art Institute. 

In 2022, Island Eclectic began archiving all written and previously documented information about the Mauna Beach Hotel’s art collection in a digital database within an internal use app. The company combined hundreds of handwritten and typed documents, along with historical photos, into the database. 

“Led by Cambridge, UK-based team member Charles Watson, this has been a collective effort of all of the Island Eclectic team,” Margo shares. “The database is now being used on an ongoing basis to track the location and any ongoing conservation work being done to the art collection. This information then feeds into the newly launched, guest-facing app that utilizes camera recognition for guests to identify and learn about the art collection.”

Free of distracting plaques or other signage, anyone can interact with the art on a deeper level, just as Mr. Rockefeller intended it. Guests may view the art through a complimentary art tour led by the resort’s expert docent or independently with the aid of the web-based mobile app. Through a blend of cutting-edge technology and restoration efforts rooted in a genuine love for art pieces that embody the culture and spirituality of the Pacific Rim and Hawaiʻi, the remarkable stories behind the pieces in the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel’s collection live on in the 21st century.

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection; 62-100 Mauna Kea Beach Dr., Kohala Coast; (808) 882-7222. Discover Mauna Kea’s art collection on their web-based mobile app: maunakearesort.com/art-app.