Explore the Features about the Historical information of this artwork.
During the initial stages of the statue's design, Gould and Gibson made efforts to create an accurate likeness of King Kamehameha's face, body, and clothing. This proved to be a challenging task, as there was no consensus on what exactly Kamehameha I looked like. When in Boston, Gibson provided Gould with an engraving of King Kamehameha, a French copy of a Chinese copy of the king's official watercolor portrait by Russian artist Louis Choris in 1816.  Gibson directed Gould to use this copy of a copy of a copy, but to portray Kamehameha at approximately age forty-five, much younger than he appeared in the original watercolor. Attention was also focused on the proper way to depict Kamehameha's body; it was eventually determined that to convey his heroic and larger-than-life status, Kamehameha should be depicted with typical Herculean features, including a broad back and shoulders, strong, powerful arms, and a commanding chin.Some evidence exists to support the claim that Gould used the Roman sculpture of Augustus Caesar from Prima Porta (see Augustus of Prima Porta) as a model for Kamehameha the Great (original cast). The Augustus sculpture was well known throughout the United States and Europe at the time, and would most certainly have been known by Gould, whose neoclassical work was often inspired by Classical pieces. In addition, there are striking similarities between the Augustus of Prima Porta and Kamehameha the Great (original cast), including the raised right arm and the fact that Kamehameha holds his spear in his left hand like Augustus, even though Kamehameha was thought to have been right-handed.  It has been argued that this fusion of Hawaiian cultural attributes with Roman heroic imagery was a deliberate attempt to portray Kamehameha I as a “Pacific Hero” and bolster the Hawaiian monarchy at a time of political and economic instability.
For use as reference for Gould, King Kalākaua commissioned a series of photographs of Hawaiians modeling King Kamehameha's. 
Of the photographs that were sent to Gould, certain features of the statues were influenced by Hawaiian brothers John Tamatoa Baker and Robert Hoapili Baker. Two photographs of the former survive, one in its original form and another in the form of a composite photograph with the bare legs of a Hawaiian fisherman. These photographs featured the original feathered garments, which had been passed down over the generations. The garments, now on display at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, included a kāʻei (sash), tied around the figure's waist and draped over his left shoulder, his mahiole (helmet), and his ʻahu ʻula (cloak). The sash consists of a central band of tiny red feathers, likely from the ʻiʻiwi, the Hawaiian honeycreeper (Vestiaria coccinea), surrounded on either side by bands of yellow feathers from the ʻōʻō (Moho nobilis). The ʻahu ʻula is composed of nearly 450,000 golden feathers from the now-extinct mamo.In order to avoid criticism from both American and Native Hawaiian critics, Gould and Kalākaua made an effort to observe the many complex customs and ritualistic insignia needed to produce an accurate representation of a high-ranking Native Hawaiian chief. Still, some aspects of Kamehameha's depiction draw heavy criticism to this day. The main point of contention is the pair of sandals adorning Kamehameha's feet. While at the time, Hawaiians did wear sandals, it was only for traveling long distances or over heavy terrain, and the obviously Western Classical style of the shoes only compounds their inaccuracy. Additional problems include the fact that Kamehameha's sash drags on the ground behind him like a royal European train (an arrangement that would be considered degrading by Native Hawaiians and that would also damage the delicate feathers composing the sash), and Gould's decision to adorn the cloak with a European-style tassel.  Although no early criticisms on the subject have been found, contemporary critics also take issue with Kamehameha's open-hand gesture, since traditional Hawaiian beckons are made with the palm down, not the palm up.
right Bishop Museum John Tamatoa Baker ʻōʻō Kalākaua Augustus of Prima Porta Robert Hoapili Baker Hawaiian honeycreeper Hawaii Kamehameha I Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum mamo