Relocation of moai objects


Since the removal of the first moai Hoa Hakananai'a from Easter Island in 1868 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, the collections of museums, or, most recently to the university grounds of the American University, Washington D.C. in 2000. 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.

Objects in museum collections

The following table lists the most prominent figures held in museums and collections:
ObjectMaterialHeightCurrent locationCountryAcquisition DateReferenceNotesImage
MoaiBasalt3 mRoyal Museums of Art and History, BrusselsBelgium1934-35ET.35.5.340 or Pou hakanonongaRemoved by the Lavachery, Metraux and Watelin expedition.
Unnamed MoaiRapa NuiRemoved from Hanga Roa in 1929 spent 40 years in Santiago, Chile before being transported to Argentina and making a round trip to the Netherlands. It was returned to Rapa Nui in 2006.
MoaiTuff2.94 mSalón de la Polinesia, Museo arqueologico, La SerenaChileDisplayed in Europe, then moved to the Salón de la Polinesia
MoaiTuff2.81 mCorporacion Museo de Arqueologia e Historia Francisco Fonck, Viña del MarChile1174
HeadBasaltCorporacion Museo de Arqueologia e Historia Francisco Fonck, Viña del MarChile35-001
MoaiTuff2.88 mMuseo Arqueological Padre Sebastian Englert, Hanga Roa, Rapa NuiMA-IDP025
HeadTuff2 m Museo Arqueological Padre Sebastian Englert, Hanga Roa, Rapa Nuic. 2006Moai from Centro Cultural Recoleta.
PukaoRed scoria—Museo Arqueological Padre Sebastian Englert, Hanga Roa, Rapa Nuic. 2006Pukao from Centro Cultural Recoleta.
HeadTuff1.85 mMusée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, ParisFrance1872Formerly presented in the Musée de l'Homme, then removed to the new musée du quai Branly.-
HeadTuff1.70 mPavillon des Sessions, Musée du Louvre, ParisFrancec. 1934-35MH.35.61.1Presented to the Chilean government by Henri Lavachery and Alfred Metraux for the Musée de l'Homme after their expedition to Rapa Nui, in 1934-35.
HeadRed scoria0.42 mPavillon des Sessions, Musée du Louvre, or the Musee de l'Homme, ParisFrancec. 1934-35MH.35.61.66
HeadBasalt0.585 mAuckland Museum, AucklandNew ZealandAM12768
MoaiTrachyte1.6 mOtago Museum, DunedinNew Zealand1929D29.6066Bought by the museum in 1929 from Norman Brander Museum blog post
MoaiBasalt2.42 mThe British Museum, LondonUnited Kingdom7 November 18681869.10-5.1 Hoa Hakananai'asee article Hoa Hakananai'a
MoaiBasalt1.56 mThe British Museum, LondonUnited Kingdom7 November 18681869.10-6.1 Moai HavaIn the British Museum's Oceanic collection
MoaiLapilli tuff2.24 mDepartment of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.United States1886E128368-0 Removed from Ahu O'Pepe.
HeadTuff1.194 mDepartment of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.United States1886E128370-0 Removed from Ahu O'Pepe.
PukaoRed scoria1.016 mDepartment of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.United States1886E128369-0 Removed from Ahu O'Pepe.
Moai2 m The American University, Washington D.CUnited States2000Moai at the American UniversityPresented in 2000 by the Embassy of Chile as a gift to The American University. The moai is a replica and displays a pair of reconstructed eyes.

Issues of authenticity

The issue of authenticity of Moai heads may never be fully resolved. The fact is that the rocks used to carve the heads are as old as the volcano eruption that formed them, so carbon 14 testing reveals no evidence of authenticity. The age of the Moai heads on the island cannot be determined, and off the island, heads can only be determined to be made from Easter Island volcanic rock or not made from Easter Island volcanic rock. Determining the age of an Easter Island Moai head is therefore an art, and not a science. Field experts make judgments and express opinions about what tools they feel were used and attempt to tie an age to that
opinion.
Such a condition means that Moai Heads cannot be tested with hope of determining authenticity; they may, however, be brought under suspicion of being fakes. As with any object of antiquity, the patrimony, the history and story of the heads, is an important part in determining 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 as ballast for a boat. 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 two moai heads within a set of 15 other 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".

Replicas

In 1968, a moai 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. 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". In co-operation with the International Fund for Monuments Inc, Lippincott produced a copy from the original moai 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 Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.