Relocation of Moai objects

Since the removal of the first "moai" Hoa Hakananai'a from Easter Island in 1869 by the crew of HMS "Topaze", 79 complete moai, heads, torsos, Pukao, and moai figurines are also known to have been removed from their original sites, and transferred to either private collections, [ [http://www.otagomuseum.govt.nz/easter_island_statue.html The Otago Museum] ] the collections of museums (including the Museo Arqueological Padre Sebastian Englert on Easter Island), [Van Tilburg, Jo Anne, (2006), Remote Possibilities: Hoa Hakananai'a and HMS Topaze on Rapa Nui. British Museum Research Papers.] or, most recently to the university grounds of the American University, Washington D.C. in 2000. [ [http://www.american.edu/about/timeline.html The American University] ] Some of the moai have been further transferred between museums and private collections, for reasons such as the moais' preservation, academic research and for public education, or - in the instance of the Moai from Centro Cultural Recoleta - for repatriation after 80 years overseas. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/heading-home/2006/04/17/1145126051065.html The Age (April 18, 2006). "Easter Island statue heads home".] ]

Objects in museum collections

The following table lists the most prominent figures held in museums and collections:

Issues of authenticity

An unauthenticated moai head entitled "Henry" currently stands in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. It was obtained in the first half of the 20th century by the founder of the park Dr. Hubert Eaton. Dr. Eaton received the moai in a legal transaction between Rapanui fishermen at Easter Island who were using the head (approx 1m height) as ballast for a boat. [ [http://www.lapidaryjournal.com/archive/50/nov1954.cfm Lapidary Journal, (November/December 1954) "The story behind Henry".] ] The Memorial Park has no plans for authenticating or testing the moai in the near future.

In 2003, the Chilean government began an investigation into 2 moai heads within a set of 15 other Easter Island artefacts [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2633865.stm Porteous, Clinton. BBC News (January 7, 2003) "Chile probes Easter Island artefacts".] ] - the possessions of Hernan Garcia de Gonzalo Vidal - which were put on sale at The Cronos gallery in Miami. After a photographic inspection by Patricia Vargas, an archaeologist at the University of Chile's Easter Island institute, she commented that ""They might be nice art pieces, but I doubt any one is 500 years old. It appears that the cuts have been made with modern machinery and not with stone tools." A meeting arranged between the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio which first reported the sale, and Hernan Garcia Gonzalo de Vidal, later failed to take place when Mr Gonzalo de Vidal became unavailable due to a "family emergency". [ [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,872690,00.html Franklin, Jonathan. The Guardian, (January 11, 2003), "Mystery looms over stone heads".] ]

Replicas

In 1968, a moai (possibly Moai 35-001) was taken from Rapa Nui and displayed in New York City as a publicity stunt to oppose the building of a jet refueling facility on Easter Island. [Glueck, Grace. New York Times, (October 22, 1968) "5-Ton Head From Easter Island is put on a Pedestal".] [ [http://www.landmarksfoundation.org/articles/MadisonSiteSpecificArticle.html Slonim, Jeffrey. Madison Magazine, (1999), "Site Specific".] ] [ [http://thelope.com/archive/2006_04_01_archive.html Holmes, Greg. The Lope, (April 15, 2006) "Happy Easter Island", correspondence with Samuel Adams Green.] ] Around the time of the campaign and the following tour to Washington D.C. and Chicago, the moai was received by the Lippincott company of North Haven, Connecticut, which since its inception in 1966 had provided a "place for artists to create large sculptures and receive help in transportation and installation of their work" [ [http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/collections_list.cfm/fuseaction/Collections.ViewCollection/CollectionID/9147/search_letter/L Smithsonian archives of American art. (September 23, 2007) List of Collections and Interviews A-Z.] ] . In co-operation with the International Fund for Monuments Inc, Lippincott produced a copy from the original moai (before it was confiscated by the Chilean government) and claimed the rights to execute the work on 100 further replicas.

In 1974, Object No. 3 was produced from the copy, and now stands outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

ee also

*Moai
*Easter Island

Notes and References