Queen Liliʻuokalani's personal flag, which at one point was under threat of being auctioned off, has made a historic return to Hawaiʻi after 130 years.
More than 100 people attended the unfolding of the queen's royal standard at Washington Place in Honolulu on Monday, where the flag once flew during the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
Emotions were high after the unfurling of the flag revealed the royal shield.
"Queen Liliʻuokalani is our queen," said First Lady Jaime Kanani Green, who is Native Hawaiian. "Her personal royal standard is not just a historical artifact. Its return represents the perpetuation of her legacy."
However, the flag's condition isn't in the best shape, according to state archivist Adam Jansen. He retrieved the flag from New York earlier this year.
The flag measured 12 feet long and 4 feet tall. The royal shield is printed in the center, and four pearls sit on the crown of the shield — symbolizing its belonging to the queen.
"The flag itself is in desperate need of conservation," Jansen said in an interview. "There's a tear at the top and there are multiple pukas (holes). There are areas where patches are holding on by a single thread," Jansen said.
The flag was made available for public view for a day and is now back in the state archives.
Jansen said he's searching for fabric specialists to do the job and then put it on permanent display. The estimated cost to preserve the flag is still unclear, he said.
"We've never done anything like this before," he said. "So displaying something 4 feet tall and 12 feet long is very difficult."
The queen's royal standard was once put up for auction to the highest bidder until the Department of the Attorney General put the British auction house, Bonhams, on notice.
The flag was part of a collection of the late Col. John Harris Soper, who was part of the provisional government that overthrew the monarchy.
Jansen said the deputy attorney general was planning to sue the auction house before two benefactors saved the flat from being auctioned off to a private collector.
The Estate of Abigail Kinoki Kekaulike Kawānakoa and Damon Estate heiress and philanthropist Brendon Damon Ethington donated $60,000 to the cause.
Jansen said if the state had sued, getting the flag back would have taken longer. He added that the flag had not been well cared for when he picked it up in New York.
"It was folded, which is never a good option if it can be prevented," he said. "Because whenever you fold fabric, you create a crease line that can tear, as witnessed as the fact there's a tear right down the middle of the flag, but they didn't necessarily treat it with the best care."
Jansen said he's hoping to find a fabric specialist as soon as this year.
