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The Beautiful Unequaled Gardens of Eden and of Elenale. This bed cover is one of the most unusual and striking of all Hawaiian quilts. The pattern shows Adam and Eve seated beneath a tree around which the devil, in the form of a serpent, is entwined. Above the tree an angel holds an open book under the legend "Mahinaai O Edena" (Garden of Eden). On the left side, two figures in royal court dress and regalia stand beneath the branch of a tree under the legend "Ke Apo O Ke Kauoha" (The Embrace of a Commandment). The man, with a large Hawaiian crown above his head, is identified as Elenale, and the woman as Leinaala, the principle characters in a Hawaiian romantic story popular in the late nineteenth century. The beautiful Leinaala, held captive by a witch in Manoa Valley, was rescued by Elenale, who took her to live in his exquisite garden. The anonymous maker of this quilt has made an analogy between the Garden of Eden and that of Elenale, and his likened Elenale's love for Leinaala to the first love of Adam for Eve. Elenale and Leinaala are portrayed as Hawaiian royalty; the figures were copies from photographs or lithographs. A full-length view of Queen Emma (1836-85) can be identified as the source for the figure of Leinaala.

Bed cover. Hawaii, before 1918. Cotton, plain weave, with cotton appliques, quilted and with knotted fringe. Poster size: 24 x 26 in., Image size: 18 3/4 x 21 in.