RAPA NUI MALE FIGURE, EASTER ISLAND

moai tangata, contains Chilean abalone (Concholepas sp.) shell.

Sir Jacob Epstein, London
Christie's London, December 15, 1961, lot 165
Carlo Monzino, Castagnola
Sotheby's Paris, December 5, 2003, lot 63
Acquired by the present owner at the above auction

The Arts Council of Great Britan, London, The Epstein Collection of Primitive and Exotic Sculpture, March 25 - April 23, 1960

William Fagg, The Epstein Collection of Primitive and Exotic Sculpture, London, 1960, no. 216
Ezio Bassani and Malcolm D. McLeod, Jacob Epstein Collector, Milan, 1989, pp. 49, fig. 63, and 153, no. 584

Very good condition for an object of this type and age. Age crack through proper left side of face extending from eyebrow to chin. Cavities (knots in wood) on back of proper right arm and extending into back, these with minor age cracks. Other minor scattered pits inherent to wood throughout. Right leg with old crack from right knee through ankle, with two holes from a previous native repair, now glued. Small hairline crack around part of base of neck. Old chip to phallus. Small chips to inlaid eyes. Nicks, scratches, and abrasions throughout consistent with age and handling. Fine glossy brown patina.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This fine Easter Island figure from the collection of British artist Sir Jacob Epstein is of a rare type known as moai tangata.  Kjellgren (2007: 319) notes that these naturalistic male figures are characterized by "their enlarged heads, strictly frontal orientation, prominent stomachs, and arms extended down the sides, [and] bear the closest formal resemblance to the island's familiar stone figures."  Twenty-first century scholarship has enhanced our understanding of the classifications of Easter Island wood sculpture, and Catherine and Michel Orliac's 2008 study Treasures of Easter Island provides detailed tallies of the surviving number of each form of wooden figure, limiting their count to those undoubtedly created before 1880.  Distinct from the emaciated, skeletal, and comparatively common moai kavakava, the moai tangata is one of the rarest forms, representing just 3% of known anthropomorphous wood statuettes from Easter Island with only 10 examples known (Orliac and Orliac 2008: 132).

The quality of the Epstein figure places it among the finest of these figures: it is closely comparable to examples in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. "1984.526"; see fig. 1), and the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Musée du Quai Branly, inv. no. "70.2000.1.1 D"; see fig. 2).

An old crack through the proper right ankle of the Epstein figure is pierced perpendicularly for binding, a technique used in the absence of adhesive and evidence of a "native repair" which was carried out in situ.  This effort reveals the importance of this sacred object to its original Rapa Nui owners.

Kjellgren (2007: 320) continues: "[moai tangata] likely portray ancestors or other powerful supernatural beings, and they may have been venerated as part of family or individual religious observances.  Possibly representing family ancestors, some moai tangata, although their features are conventionalized, may have been intended to portray specific individuals."

The decoration on the cranium closely relates to Easter Island petroglyphs; a raised ring is centered on the lumbar region.