Ancient wood carving returns to Hawaii, will be displayed at Bishop Museum

archaeologicalnews:

HONOLULU (KHON2) – A piece of ancient Hawaiian history has made its way back home.

A carved wooden kii, which depicts the Hawaiian god Ku, previously belonged to Claude Verite, an art dealer based in Paris. It had been passed down from his father, who reportedly got it in the 1940s.

Where it came from before that is still a mystery.

Last November, business owner Marc Benioff and his wife, Lynne, bought the artifact at a public auction in Paris for $7.5 million.

Rather than keeping it for themselves, the couple felt it belonged in Hawaii, so they donated it to Bishop Museum.  Read more.