Hoa Hakananaia Moai

This basalt moai or ancestral statue (1000–1200) from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) differs from most examples carved in softer tuff. Its back carries low reliefs of frigate birds and human figures tied to the tangata manu (birdman) ceremonies that governed fertility and ritual authority. Removed by a British naval crew in 1868 and later presented to Queen Victoria, it now stands as a reminder of the colonial extraction of Rapa Nui heritage.