Birdman Figure (tangata manu)

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Birdman Figure (tangata manu)

Artist: Unknown

Date: late- 19th-early- 20th century

Medium: Wood

Dimensions:

h. 24 13/16 in. (63 cm); w. 12 3/16 in. (31 cm)

Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.

Object number: 77.1089

Label Text

The social organization of Easter Island, the remotest of Oceania, was based on class stratification with a king who may have exercised a purely religious function. Deities seemed to have played a relatively minor role apart from this example, which is a mythological being with a human body and a bird's head. Bird-headed human figures are a common motif throughout Polynesia.

On view

The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.

Artwork

Birdman Figure (tangata manu)

Birdman Figure (tangata manu)