A Hawaiian nonprofit has launched an international hunt for artifacts that once belonged to the nation's last king and queen and were sold when the monarchy ended long ago.
The Friends of Iolani Palace, an organization in charge of restoring the Palace, said they are using historic records such as photographs and newspapers to track down items like porcelain plates and a wardrobe that once furnished the palace, NBC News reported.
Iolani Palace was the residence of King Kalakaua and his successor and sibling Queen Liliuokalani, until she was disposed of in the late 19th century.
"After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, Provisional Government officials inventoried the contents of the Iolani Palace and sold at public auction whatever furniture or furnishings were not suitable for government operations," a spokesperson for The Friends of Iolani Palace told NBC News.
The group has already located items from 36 states in the U.S. and four foreign countries, including a pair of cuff buttons belonging to Queen Liliuokalani that were purchased for $2 in 1924. A New Jersey woman, the daughter of the U.S. Navy Lieutenant who bought them, returned the cuffs.
Other items recovered were "porcelain plates returned from Australia and a table found in the Governor's mansion in Iowa, to a chair in a local thrift store," the spokesperson said.
Still on the items-to-return list are an ebony and gilt bed, wardrobe and dresser that belonged to King Kalakaua, the station reported.
The Friends of Iolani Palace is urging those in possession of items from the palace to return them.
