A MYSTERIOUS carved figure, from Easter Island, has gone on public display for the first time in 50 years in Liverpool.

Maoi Hava, which is 1.56m high and made from stark basalt rock, makes an immediate impact on visitors at the World Museum.

The statue was taken from its Polynesian home, also known as Rapa Nui, by the crew of HMS Topaze, in 1868, as they performed an Admiralty survey of the South Pacific, and was subsequently presented to the British Museum in London.

Maoi Hava was not alone on the voyage and shared the ship’s hold with another, larger statue named Hoa Hakananai’a, which stood at a towering 2.4m.

The larger of the two statues was presented to Queen Victoria on its arrival in England, but she later decided to give it to the British Museum as well, joining its travel companion.

Both figures went on display to the British public soon after and remained there until the 1960s, when Hava was put into storage for safekeeping. The other statue remains on show today.

Around 95% of Rapa Nui’s famous statues are carved out of volcanic stone, but Moai Hava is crafted from the much harder basalt rock which makes it a unique relic, one of only a handful existing outside the island.

The figure has been in London for more than 150 years.

Lynne Heidi Stumpe, curator of oceanic collections at the World Museum, believes it a great opportunity for the people of Merseyside to see it.

She said: “Hava does not travel, so this a great chance for people to see him. There is only a handful of basalt statues outside Easter Island and he has tremendous presence.”