Easter Islanders demand return of ‘stolen’ statue from British Museum
EASTER ISLAND’S indigenous community wants the British Museum to return a unique Moai statue that was taken 150 years ago and given to Queen Victoria as a gift.
The 7ft 8in tall Hoa Hakananai’a sculpture was allegedly removed by Richard Powell, captain of HMS Topaze, in 1868 and Queen Victoria later gave it to the museum.
Now the Rapa Nui people have requested the Chilean government help them return the carved statue, which is made from basalt, to the Unesco World Heritage Site that lies approximately 2,000 miles from the coast of mainland Chile.
However, the British Museum told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that it believes there is “a great public benefit” in keeping the statue in the mu- seum because it is on display to millions of visitors each year.
The dispute comes as the London museum faces numerous other claims to return artefacts to the countries they originate from, including the Elgin Marbles to Greece and the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
Easter Island’s Rapa Nui community believe that the Moai statues emit “mana”– a spiritual force that protects their tribe.
Local leaders said that retrieving the statue would be “an important symbol in closing the sad chapter” of European navigators violating their rights when they explored Easter Island during the 19th century.
There are 900 giant statues on the island, most of which were carved there from volcanic ash between the 6th and 17th centuries. However, the Hoa Hakananai’a, which means “the stolen or hidden friend” in the island’s indigenous language, is unique because of its basalt composition.
The tribe built the Moai statues to honour important chiefs when they passed away, and they were carved with different characteristics to keep the appearance of the person they represented.
A spokesman for the British Museum said: “We have received no official request here at the British Museum for the statue to be returned to Easter Island.
“The Moai sculpture that we have in the museum is on permanent display to the six million people who walk through our doors every year, and we think there is a great public benefit to keeping it here for all of those people to see and appreciate.
“We also believe it is important to represent the history of Easter Island’s indigenous community in the British Museum.”
The Rapa Nui population have recently taken over the conservation of their unique archeological heritage.
This involves attempting to recover priceless artefacts they say were illegally taken, including another Moai residing in a museum in Paris.
Felipe Ward, Chile’s national treasures minister, said the request for the British Museum to return the statue “seems appropriate given the new co-ordination and conservation functions being carried out on the island”.