Natural White Cement Moai Bust Sculpture

White concrete statue with iron structure, treated with resins. Ideal in gardens or open spaces, but also perfectly suited for interiors.

Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is located in the southern Pacific Ocean and is one of the most remote areas on earth. Its Moais monoliths are known all over the world and the legends linked to their history have always attracted numerous visitors from all over the world. The construction of these imposing structures in volcanic tuff dates back to around 1250, when the Polynesian colonizers began to sculpt these figures, depicting their ancestors and having an auspicious purpose. The faces are in fact mostly turned towards the sea, to propitiate abundant fishing, a source of survival. of well-being and prosperity.

A recent geological study also found that the position of the statues has a significant correspondence with fresh water sources. One has reason to think that, citing an anthropological study, “they represented the divinized ancestors and celebrated the daily sharing of resources” : a sort of hymn to life and at the same time a thank you for what was received, recognizing the most precious good in water.

There are 887 of them on the island. They were carved in the tuff quarries to be transported to different places on the island. The way they were carried is one of the most mysterious aspects, considering that each block is 2 to 10 meters high and that, it turned out recently, each head also has a “body” buried under the ground. The most accredited theory is that they were made to “walk”, that is, transported vertically with an oscillatory movement, with the use of ropes pulled from one side and the other; if they fell, they were left in place as they had fallen, since they were too heavy to be lifted, this also explains why many Moai were found overturned far from the sea.

According to a legend, birdmen (Tangata manu) came from the sky and could fly. Their leader was called Makemake and, according to local mythology, he was the creator of humanity, the god of fertility and the main deity of the birdman cult. His image was carved on some rocks on the island. The stone giants moved thanks to a mysterious force that only two priests were able to control. One day, however, the two priests disappeared and from there the work of building the statues was suspended. It is the reason why a row of statues remained unfinished. Scholars make this moment coincide with the year 1500.