Anthropomorphic Moai Kava Kava sculpture

These masculine statuettes are carefully preserved on Easter Island, in houses, wrapped in bark fabric and handed down from generation to generation. Sculpted in a hard wood, the profile of this figure follows the tortuous shapes of the trunk, and its eyes are inlaid with shells and obsidian. The term "Moai" means all human or animal sculpture. "Kava Kava" refers to the spirits of the dead and of the ancestors. The protruding ribs and the emaciated lines of the face evoke the afterlife. Some figures were worn around the neck, others were used during rituals.