Rongorongos

Fair Market Value: $1.500

Dimensions: 13.25" x 8" x 8.5"

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• The Artist will receive 50% of the purchase price

From Easter Island- Rapanui: Incised for Chanting Out
The ancient Easter Island glyphs carved on tablets share a mystical language. As rare
as the few remaining dozen incised wood planks, Rongorongo is one of a few
independent languages in human history and is yet to be deciphered.

The unique system of characters are incised in shallow horizontal channels. The text is read from the bottom row, left to right. Each line is reversed so one must turn the tablet 180o to chant to the next line. Although the literal translation is unknown, the spirited nature of the "chants" infuse the sculptures. Inheriting the ancestral Rongorongo mobility, many of the sculptures invert
freely into various poses as they step from 2 to 3 dimension.

The mysterious carved organic tablets liken time capsules capturing a once diverse and
abundant exchange between man and nature on this remote Pacific island. The
thriving Rapanui culture and its lush landscape fell to deforestation and devastation
leaving a profound message and crucial restoration at work today.

The color of the pit-fired ceramic Rongorongos is 100% painted by the fumes and flame
of their primitive outdoor firing, unpredictable and unique.