A Rare and Impressive Pieced and Appliquéd Cottom Hawaiian Quilt: O Maui No Ka oi, attributed to Keala, Maui, Circa 1950

composed brilliant red, white, blue, and yellow pieces; hand-stitched and highlighted with gold embroidered stitching; the central panel bordered by Union Jacks centering the royal Hawaiian coat of arms.

George Q. Cannon was among the first Mormon missionaries to arrive in Hawaii in 1850 and labored on the island of Maui. He was noted for his conversion of a prominent Hawaiian Maui judge, Jonathan Napela. This was the beginning of many other conversions among the Hawaiian people on the island. 1950 was the year of the Centennial of Mormonism in Hawaii. The Centennial marked a year long celebration with pageantry and special gatherings.

The flag quilt is a quilt form unique to the Hawaiian Islands; a pieced and appliquéd representation of the beloved Hawaiian flag and a symbol of Hawaiian independence. Although some flag quilts were apparently made before a powerful consortium of western business leaders forced Queen Lili' uokalani to abdicate her throne in 1893, many more were made after that event and after the 1898 annexation of the islands by the United States. Heartbroken Hawaiians recalled the queen and their kingdom by crafting quilts that typically set representations of four flags at right angles to each other around a central motif, such as a crown, a coat of arms, or representations of former kings and queens. (excerpted from American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007, Robert Shaw, Sterling Publishing Company, New York, 2009)