For Patty Mazingo of Maui, the table that belonged to her late mother is full of sentimental value, including memories of many holiday family meals.
"The table was always there, part of our lives, growing up with us," Mazingo said. "The cat loved to sleep on top of it and our children played hide-and-seek under the table."
Mazingo and her siblings referred to it casually as "Kalakaua’s Table," knowing only that their mother, Barbara Cannon, received it as a gift from a close friend more than 50 years ago.
It was only after they brought the table to PBS’ "Antiques Roadshow" in 2006 that they realized it was a unique piece with monetary and historic value as well.
The octagonal table is made of native Hawaiian woods and is believed to have been made for King David Kalakaua on Maui some time in the mid- to late 1870s. The table ended up at an antique store in Honolulu, where it was purchased by the friend who later gave it to Cannon.
The table comfortably seats eight and served as the family’s dining table for many decades before Mazingo’s mother moved back to Upcountry Maui.
Mazingo and her two brothers, Tom and Peter, inherited the table when their mother died in 2009. Since appearing on "Antiques Roadshow," the piece has been stored on Oahu.
Now Mazingo and her brothers are trying to find a buyer who will give it a good home, appreciate its history and take care of it.
When the "Antiques Roadshow" segment was filmed, Mazingo remembers that her mother, then in her 80s, had waited the entire day at the Hawai‘i Convention Center before learning she would be interviewed.
Since she had repeated her story so many times before getting on camera, she was pretty nonchalant when the appraiser told her she had a valuable piece worth $30,000. She shrugged and said something to the effect of, ‘Eh, that’s what I thought.’"
Unfortunately, that clip ended up on the cutting-room floor and never made it on the show.
IN A 2009 appraisal, the table was valued, in its current condition, at about $30,000, and between $45,000 and $50,000 if fully restored.
Mazingo, 60, said it wasn’t feasible to ship the table to a major auction house in New York or London.
"We want to sell it, but in our hearts we hope it will stay in Hawaii," she said. "Ideally, you want it to go to someone who understands exactly what they’re getting."
Hawaiian furniture expert Irving Jenkins, who was an adviser for "Antiques Roadshow," believes the table was made by koa mill workers in Makawao for Capt. James Makee, a sugar mill entrepreneur and owner of Rose Ranch at Ulupalakua, Maui. The mill may have been the same one to supply koa for ‘Iolani Palace.
Makee had the table made for poker games with Kalakaua, a frequent visitor to the ranch, which changed hands several times and is now Ulupalakua Ranch.
"It may be the only piece of furniture made there, which makes it really unique," said Jenkins. "It’s not professionally made, but it’s a very interesting piece of furniture."
The table, which measures about 30 inches high and 61 inches across, features a surface of koa and kou veneer with an eight-point star in the center. Three ornately scrolled feet support a round column that rests on a fine point.
Jenkins said the table would have been considered an "expensive treasure for that time."
It’s still in need of further restoration, Mazingo said.
When her mom received the table, it had been cut in half so additional leaves could be added to the center. Renowned woodworker Wright Bowman restored it to one piece, but one of the legs is cracked and is being held together by dowels and a clamp.
Mazingo is still trying to uncover more of the table’s history. She believes there was a furniture sale at Rose Ranch and that a bookkeeper there purchased it for his family to use before selling it to the Honolulu antique shop.
"To us, it was a wonderful, beautiful table," she said. "Only now at this time in my life do I fully appreciate that for so many years, we got to dine at a table that was built for a king."
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To contact Patty Mazingo, email pmazingo@gmail.com.
