The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Bernice Akamine says the impetus behind her feather work is a cultural connection to her Hawaiian ancestors, and finds inspiration in the feather baskets of the Pomo people. 'Ahu 'ula is the feather cape worn by Hawaiian nobility. This basket speaks alliances leading to cultural and artistic connections throughout the Pacific. Though this basket portrays connections between people and the natural world, Akamine says that when she works with feathers, the quiet she experiences is like an isolated meditation.

Gift of Myrtle Dietsche Fisher.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Closed necklace made from bamboo and seed ornaments. A section of bamboo is split in two and hangs vertically down the centre of the necklace. Both sections of bamboo are place side by side and maintained together with three small fibre strings tied at the back of the ornament. On each side of the necklace there is a row of ten small, oval, brown seeds. Two fibre strings knotted together close the top of the necklace.

Tied headband with a long row of seed ornaments. Small light grey-blue oval-shaped seeds with dark brown spots strung between two woven dark brown strings of plant fibre. A hole has been bored through each seed to allow for a thread to go through and hold them in place. The seeds are roughly of even size and shape and are arranged in a single row. Strings at both ends of the headband are tied in a loop to close the headband.

Dagger carved from a cassowary leg bone with cassowary feathers and seed ornaments. One end of the bone is sharpened into a triangular point. The other end of the bone has a woven plant fibre cover from which hang seven ornaments held in place by woven thread. Each ornament is made of two hollowed red seeds and a long black hollow tube inserted between the seeds. The other ornament is made with one white and brown plastic bead instead of a red seed. Black and brown cassowary feathers are wrapped tightly with the remaining thread at the end of each ornament.

Carved wooden head made from a single piece of wood. Oval-shaped with a long angular nose, prominent brow ridge, deep set eyes and small upturned mouth. Hollowed out crevice under chin allows for the mouth to be carved out. The left ear has been bored through and two yellow brown feathers adorned with a light grey seed have been tied to it with a dark brown grass or rattan strips. The nostrils have also been carved out and a stick with two light grey seeds has been inserted horizontally through them. The head has a shallow outline of a hairline running across the top of the face on the front.