Lot Essay
The entry in the Beasley inventory reads: Easter Island Wooden male Image. 13 6/8in. long having long ears & eyes set with stone and obsidian Bt. W. Oldman 3-4-14, no. 856
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MOAI KAVAKAVA
Details
a fine easter island male figure
moai kavakava
standing with the arms carved free of the body and the hand resting lightly on the hips, the long face with hatched eyebrows, small tuft of beard below the curved open mouth which has small carved teeth, the eyes of fishbone circlets about obsidian discs, the ears with long pendant lobes, the glyph on the head carved as a Janus bird whose necks curve about the forehead of the figure, with the body cross-hatched at the crown of the head, the emaciated body with jutting rib cage, slender arcs below the shoulders, well-rounded stomach, notched spine above the small buttocks, joint marks at the ankles, glossy dark brown patina, vestiges of the Beasley label on the right leg
35cm. high
moai kavakava
standing with the arms carved free of the body and the hand resting lightly on the hips, the long face with hatched eyebrows, small tuft of beard below the curved open mouth which has small carved teeth, the eyes of fishbone circlets about obsidian discs, the ears with long pendant lobes, the glyph on the head carved as a Janus bird whose necks curve about the forehead of the figure, with the body cross-hatched at the crown of the head, the emaciated body with jutting rib cage, slender arcs below the shoulders, well-rounded stomach, notched spine above the small buttocks, joint marks at the ankles, glossy dark brown patina, vestiges of the Beasley label on the right leg
35cm. high
Provenance
W.O. Oldman, sold in 1914 to
H.G. Beasley
John and Nora Wise
H.G. Beasley
John and Nora Wise
Literature
Forment, F., Les Figures moai kavakava de l'Ile de Paques, Ghent, 1991, p.54, ill.3
Exhibited
Ile de Paques: Une Enigme?, Brussels, 1990, p.367, fig.220