The South African government said it wanted to “restore dignity back to the statue” , which was unveiled after the former president’s death.
The sculptors are said to have secretly placed the rabbit – their trademark signature – into the statue’s right ear.
They also wanted it to denote the speed in which they carved the statue, as rabbit in the Afrikaans language is “haas”, which also means haste.
The bronze statue was unveiled on December 16, the day after Mr Mandela was buried, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
A Department of Arts and Culture spokesman said artists Andre Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren had apologised for any offence caused.
They said they had added the rabbit after the culture department had refused to allow them to engrave their signatures on the trousers of the statue
Post published in: Analysis