Rongorongo text F

Tablet F of the rongorongo corpus, also known as the (Stephen) Chauvet tablet, is one of two dozen surviving rongorongo texts.

Other names

F is the standard designation, from Barthel (1958). Fischer (1997) refers to it as RR7.

Location

The Arman Collection, 430 Washington Street, New York City.

There are no reproductions.

Physical description

A fragment of a rotted tablet of unknown wood, 11.5 × 8 cm.

There is a label on side b that reads: fragment d'une tablette de l'Ile de Pâques Souvenir de Mgr d'Axiéri, reçu en 1892 (a fragment of a tablet from Easter Island. In memory of Msgr. d'Axiéri, received in 1892).^[1]

Provenance

The condition of the wood suggests it was found in a cave or other moist environment. Although Jaussen never mentioned this tablet, Fischer believes that after his death it was included in the second shipment of his effects to the SSCC in Paris in 1892.^[2] In 1930 it was traded to Stéphen Chauvet. Chauvet died in 1950; its location until Arman acquired it c. 1990 is unknown.

Several scholars, such as Guy, have doubts as to the authenticity of this tablet. However, Fischer believes it to be authentic based on "its provenance, glyphic morphology, and sequences shared with other tablets".

Text

There are six lines of glyphs on each side, two of those on side b effaced. Of the ~ 55 glyphs, many are only partly preserved. The label on side b covers a part of the inscription which has never been transcribed. The crude quality of the carving is similar to that of tablet Y.

Barthel

Side a, as traced by Barthel. The lines have been rearranged to reflect English reading order: Fa1 at top, Fa5 at bottom.

Fischer

Template:Sectionstub

Image gallery

Side a
Side b, with label

References

^ Jaussen died in 1891. Lorena Bettocchi states that the date was first written 1892 then corrected to 1872.^{[citation needed]}
^ This appears be an assumption by Fischer based on the label date of 1892. However, Thomson did not photograph it along with the other five tablets during his visit to Jaussen in 1886. See Note 1.

BARTHEL, Thomas S. 1958. Grundlagen zur Entzifferung der Osterinselschrift (Bases for the Decipherment of the Easter Island Script). Hamburg : Cram, de Gruyter.
FISCHER, Steven Roger. 1997. RongoRongo, the Easter Island Script: History, Traditions, Texts. Oxford and N.Y.: Oxford University Press.

[1] Jaussen died in 1891. Lorena Bettocchi states that the date was first written 1892 then corrected to 1872.^{[citation needed]}

[2] This appears be an assumption by Fischer based on the label date of 1892. However, Thomson did not photograph it along with the other five tablets during his visit to Jaussen in 1886. See Note 1.

[1]

[2]