While running errands today I couldn’t believe what I saw! Those weird carved statues that I’ve seen in documentaries about Easter Island!      

  The problem is I wasn't on Easter Island I was in Ticino Switzerland! I just had to stop and take some pictures so here they are.  

This beauty, carved from local stone is almost 3 metres high and about 1.4 meters at its widest!

A local stone cutter had decided to take this on as his own project and to advertise his skills. A major part of his business is granite counter tops and tombstones! The "Moai" head that he carved is about 3 meters high and 1.4 meters at its widest.

How Does This Local Stone Cutters "Easter Island" Statue Compare to The Original?

Take a look at some pictures of the the original heads called "Moai" that are found on that famous island.

Here are a few of the carved heads. This photo is from pixabay.

 

Quick Facts About The Statues

• There are a whopping 887 that have been catalogued
• They are called Moai 
• The statues were created by the Rapa Nui people. 
• The carved head and torso statues average 4 meters in height 
• The tallest can be up to an incredible 12 meters
• They can weigh up to 75 tons
• Most were created from volcanic rock between 1100 and 1680

Here is a grouping of Moai showing more torso. Notice that they are all different! Photo from pixabay.com

What Were The Biggest Differences Between The Real Moai and The One That I Saw?

• Age: That one's obvious!
• Size: The one that I saw, while an impressive 3 meters in height would be dwarfed by the originals!
• Material: The original were volcanic rock and the one that I saw was a local stone.
• WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE? .................THE SETTING!

Check Out The Setting Of The Moai That I Saw Today!

Kind of a let down wouldn't you say? There it was sitting on top of steel shipping containers. How undignified!

Would you take a vacation to visit this statue? I think not!

The Moai carved by a local stone cutter, while impressive, sits in a very undignified spot indeed!  Still it's a testament both to the real thing and to the local artisan who decided to try his hand at a re-creation!

I hope that you enjoyed this trip to "Easter Island".

Until next time,

@kus-knee (The Old Dog)

Remember, I reward the best comment(s) on each of my posts with my "The Old Dog is Throwing You a Bone" program! So please re-steem and follow so that we can spread the wealth!