The Art of Easter Island

New visualization method for cranial carvings of Rapanui wooden figurines

“…We do not interpret them as feathers of a headgear, because deeply incised curve on top of these formations likely represents the baseline of the hair; only a few eyebrow hairs reach this curve. In the case of intentionally carved feather headdress, all lines representing feathers reach the upper head contour (Esen‐Baur & Forment, 1990:230; Heyerdahl, 1975:Pls.55b, 56). The ears of the anthropomorph are elongated and feature rounded objects at the bottom of the lobes, which may be identified with shark vertebra with their characteristic slightly sunken central area.…”

“…The shaggy hair surrounding the face, an emphasis on the nose and overall pointed shape may be interpreted as the principal traits of dog's face. The cranial carving has a fan‐shaped tail that is characteristic for lizardman and birdman carvings (Heyerdahl, 1975:Pls. 38, 41, 42, 43a, 135d, 138, 143).…”

“…The mouth is elliptic in shape, with lips and teeth. The visual pun in representing octopus' body and tentacles as a carefully combed hairdo can be further expanded by interpreting its mouth as a piece of tapa (bark cloth) used to bind hair into a topknot; a female figurine with a similar “hair band” is preserved in the Ethnographic Museum of Hamburg (Heyerdahl, 1975:Pls. 88 left, 89a).…”

“…The reader interested in this branch of Rapanui artistic expression is invited to consult the principal sources discussing this subject (e.g. Dederen, 2013:31–48; Forment, 1993; Heyerdahl, 1975:50–52; Métraux, 1940:252, 253; Orliac & Orliac, 1995:38–42; Orliac & Orliac, 2008:110 figs. 64, 113, 114; Wieczorek, 2019).…”

Desafíos y amenazas del MAPSE Museo Rapa Nui en el contexto de descolonización: entre la adaptación y la incertidumbre

“…Los Nari Nari (Figura 3), también conocidos como Manu uru, son una colección de siete muñecos confeccionados de fibra vegetal de mahute, los cuales están relacionados con la funebria antigua rapanui, usados en una ceremonia llamada Koro Paina que se celebraba en las plazas de sus plataformas sagradas o Ahu (Heyerdahl 1976;Moe Varúa 2013). Las piezas originales de esta colección están repartidas en diferentes museos, entre ellos el Peabody Museum de Harvard en Boston, Estados Unidos, el Ulster Museum de Belfast, Irlanda del Norte, y en el New Brunswick Museum de Canadá (Heyerdahl 1976). Por esta razón, con la compra de estas obras, el MAPSE sería el único museo en el mundo con la colección completa de Nari Nari, sin embargo, todas son réplicas.…”