Engraving, Insulaires et Monumens de l'Ile de Paque, Pl. 11 of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse

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TitleEngraving, Insulaires et Monumens de l'Ile de Paque, Pl. 11 of Atlas du voyage de LapérouseDate1988About this objectThis item belongs to a group of 70 copperplate engravings printed and hand coloured in 1988 – to mark the bicentenary of La Pérouse’s visit of Botany Bay – using the original 1797 plates. The set of prints were gifted to the La Perouse Museum in 2003 by Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France on behalf of the Terra Australis Committee, France. This engraving depicts the islanders and monuments of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island – a name coined by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen who arrived on Easter Sunday in 1722. La Pérouse instructed his crew to measure the megalithic statues, or moai, and recorded one as 14 feet 6 inches high – an action captured in this print. He concluded that they were made of a lightweight volcanic stone called lapillo and concurred with Cook’s suggestion that the monuments may have been erected by the island’s ancient inhabitants using levers. The image vividly portrays the interaction between the local people and the French navy crew, enlivened by details such as a woman wearing a bicorne while examining a mirror, officers measuring and sketching the moai, and the whimsical moment of a man attempting to steal a bicorne.

The original copperplates of the 1797 atlas accompanying the journal of La Pérouse’s expedition during 1785 and 1788 are now held in the collection of the Musée de la Marine, Paris. They were etched in 1796-1797 based on sketches sent back to France during the expedition.
Object No.2003.1-11Inscriptions & marksInsulaires et monumens de l'Ile de Paque / Dessiné par Duche de Vancy / Gravé par Godefroy / V.13Place madeFranceSourceLa Perouse MuseumProvenance 1797 – first edition of the Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse published by the Imprimerie de la Republique;
1988 – printed and hand coloured by the Musée de la Marine, Paris from the 1797 copperplates;
24 March 2003 – gifted to the La Perouse Museum on behalf of Terra Australis Committee with the support of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.Credit lineGift of Mr Michel Rocard on behalf of Terra Australis Committee France with the support of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, 2003Acquisition date24 March 2003Organisations (Detailed entries)La Perouse Museum (La Perouse, N.S.W.)ThemesEuropean arrivals

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Engraving, Insulaires et Monumens de l'Ile de Paque, Pl. 11 of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse