| Easter Island Statue | |
|---|---|
 Hoa Hakananai'a in the Wellcome Gallery in the British Museum | |
| Material | Flow lava |
| Size | Height: 2.42 metres (7.9 ft) |
| Created | c. 1000-1600 AD |
| Present location | British Museum, London, Gallery 24 |
| Registration | 1869,1005.1 |
Hoa Hakananai'a is a moai, a statue from Easter Island. It was taken from Orongo, Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in 1868 by the crew of a British ship and is now in the British Museum in London.
It has been described as a "masterpiece"[1] and among the finest examples of Easter Island sculpture.[2] Though relatively small, it is considered to be typical of the island's statue form,[3][4] but distinguished by carvings added to the back, associated with the island's birdman cult.[5]
- ^ Métraux, A (1940). The Ethnology of Easter Island. Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum. p. 298.
- ^ Métraux, A (1957). Easter Island: A Stone-Age Civilisation of the Pacific. London: Andre Deutsch. p. 162.
- ^ Routledge, K (1919). The Mystery of Easter Island. London: Sifton, Praed & Co. p. 166.
- ^ Van Tilburg 2004, pp. 45–47.
- ^ Van Tilburg 1992, pp. 56–59.