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"Lizardman" Figure (Moko)

19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 352
The distinctive lizardman figures (moko) of Rapa Nui are composite beings with the heads and tails of lizards, the fan-like tails of birds, and the bodies of humans. Reportedly placed at the thresholds of dwellings or ceremonial structures or hung from interior rafters, the figures may depict powerful spirits, who served as supernatural guardians. Small lizardman images were also worn as pendants by dancers during feasts. The hole in the back of this work once accommodated the cordage used to suspend it within a dwelling or around a performer's neck.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Lizardman" Figure (Moko)
  • Date: 19th century
  • Geography: Chile, Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
  • Culture: Rapa Nui people
  • Medium: Wood, obsidian, bone
  • Dimensions: H. 3 1/4 × W. 2 1/8 × L. 19 1/4 in. (8.3 × 5.4 × 48.9 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.416
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

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Male Figure (Moai Tangata), Wood, obsidian, bone, Rapa Nui people
Male Figure (Moai Tangata)
Rapa Nui people
early 19th century
Female Figure (Moai Papa), Wood, glass, paint, resin(?), Rapa Nui people
Female Figure (Moai Papa)
Rapa Nui people
19th century
Dance Paddle (Rapa), Wood, Rapa Nui people
Dance Paddle (Rapa)
Rapa Nui people
early 19th century
Gorget (Rei Miro), Wood, Rapa Nui people
Gorget (Rei Miro)
Rapa Nui people
19th century
Male Figure (Moai Kavakava), Wood, obsidian, bone, Rapa Nui people
Male Figure (Moai Kavakava)
Rapa Nui people
mid to late 19th century

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