Hoa Hakananai'a is a moai (Easter Island statue) housed in the British Museum in London. It was removed from ‘Orongo, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in November 1868 by the crew of the British ship HMS Topaze, and arrived in England in August 1869. Though relatively small, it is considered to be typical of the island’s statue form, but distinguished by carvings added to the back, associated with the island birdman cult. It has been described as a "masterpiece", "without a doubt, the finest example of Easter Island sculpture".

The work has been passed between many hands before ending in The British Museum, which has added to the objects status and narrative. Scan the World is building a framework which will question whether anyone can claim digital ownership to an object outside of intellectual property. Instead of giving absolute rights to the institution that holds the object, it will put ownership into the hands of those who the object originates from. Equally, as the digital space is constantly developing, strands of ownership will be dedicated to those who remix, print, write about and give further context to the artefact.

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.

For Tips of how to finish your prints see our post processing tutorial