A little deity from Mangareva in the collections of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Rome

Wooden carvings from Mangareva, in the Gambier Islands, are rare. This article describes a unique wooden deity that is housed in the collections of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Rome. The origin as well as the probable wood from which this deity is carved is identified and a radiocarbon date for the carving is presented. This is followed by a brief discussion regarding the role of such figures in Mangarevan society, along with a discussion about the collection of ethnographic objects by European visitors during the early post-contact period