Welcome to the Penn Museum blog. First launched in January 2009, the Museum blog now has over 800 posts covering a range of topics in the categories of Museum, Collection, Exhibitions, Research, and By Location. Here you’ll hear directly from our staff and Penn students about their work, research, experiences, and discoveries. To explore the Museum's other digital content, visit The Digital Penn Museum.
The Spirit of Aloha and Meaningful Knowledge
By: Kate Pourshariati
In which members of the Penn Hawai’i Club tour the archives, make plans for speaking in the fall for Second Sunday Culture Films, and later visit with Oceanian Section Keeper Adria Katz. In early June two students from the Penn Hawai’i Club visited with Adria Katz, Keeper of the Oceanian Collections, to view the Hawai’ian […]
Feather Cape [Object of the Day #46]
By: Ashley Harper
Cape consisting of bundles of small yellow, red, and black feathers tied in overlapping rows to a netted foundation of plant fiber. Like Object of the Day #14, a long feather cloak, this cape was an item of aristocratic regalia and a signifier of rank in ancient Hawaii. Full length cloaks were worn by the […]
Hawaiian Feather Cloak [Object of the Day #14]
By: Amy Ellsworth
Cloak consisting of bundles of red and yellow feathers tied in overlapping rows to a netted foundation of plant fiber. Such cloaks were items of aristocratic regalia, worn by only the highest ranking noble men in ancient Hawaii. They were signifiers of rank, and provided sacred protection in battle. It is thought that originally these […]