Post #133729 by Aaron's Akua on Mon, Jan 3, 2005 1:22 PM

More "Weigh-In" from Bob at O.A.

Apparently Bob & Leroy at Oceanic Arts have been following this thread. Bob emailed me over the weekend:

Bob: *”Aloha Aaron: This is Bob of Oceanic Arts replying to your thread again. LeRoy and I checked out the new photo on Tiki Central… The tiki is definitely hardwood and imported from Samoa by Cargoes by Carter in the era of 1956 to 1960. LeRoy and I recarved many of these tikis for Carter, as they were carved in Samoa and some features were not accurate.

We carved, sanded and finished them for many jobs. The head, and mouth cracks are typical of hardwood and not of palmwood which is much more grainy. Termite damage is also typical of hardwood as palmwood rots.

Carter called the wood APITAN, which is a tropical hardwood found in the South Seas. Somewhat like Honduras Mahogany in density.

We used to work for Carter and sell for him and have all his catalogs including a photo of the Disney tiki, which should have his price on this tiki for the 1960's. I'll try to get back to you on this data…

Bob
OCEANIC ARTS”*

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Reply from me: *”Aloha Bob, Thanks so much for the follow-up. Your information really narrows this down… …So we now know that the tiki is:

1. Between 45 and 49 years old.
2. Definitely a Cargoes by Carter tiki.
3. Imported from Samoa.
4. Made of "Apitan" hardwood.

So, here are a couple more questions if you don't mind.

1. Do you think that this tiki was imported by Cargoes by Carter, then recarved, sanded and finished by Oceanic Arts? If so, would it have been carved by Ed Crissman, or by you and Leroy?

2. If you have the original price from the catalog, that would be excellent.

3. I had asked some of the TC folks for an "off-the-cuff" appraisal on the current market value of this tiki… Given that you're in the business, do you have any idea what it might be worth in its current condition? How about if it was refurbished?

Mahalo again for your insight!

Aaron Coppersmith”*

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Again from Bob: *“You are welcome to post our reply on Tiki Central.

Your questions:

#1: We believe it was imported by Cargoes by Carter. It's typical in detail .We might have touched it up for Carter. Not carved by Ed or LeRoy. Usually sold "out of the crate", with some touchup, sanding & finish.

#2: Have not been able to locate Carters original catalog. Will look some more.

#3: This tiki would be fairly easy to return to good condition. LeRoy and I figure we could sell it for up to $2,000 in reconditioned state. Current condition cost wise---maybe $1,200.

Bob”*

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**PROJECT SOLVED!

So, here’s the revised description of Mysterious Tiki “X”, which I believe can now be considered authenticated to the best of everyone’s ability:**

Name: *"Rarotongan Tiki from The Cook Islands”. *
Origin: Samoa.
Imported by: Cargoes by Carter.
Material: "Apitan" hardwood from Samoa.
Approx. Age: Between 45 and 49 years old. Imported in the era of 1956 to 1960.
Other: Possibly sold "out of the crate", with some touchup, sanding & finish by Oceanic Arts.
Original Owner: Dale (or Gale) Sherwood, an old time movie actress, who died in 2002.
Current Condition: Weathered, some termite damage… otherwise, looks great!
Estimated Value: $1200 “as-is”, $2000 in reconditioned state.

8 FT, Geeky Tiki, & Tangaroa, it looks like you guys were right on the money (Ben, you were off a little bit!). Excellent guestimating. On behalf of Maureen, I’d like to thank everyone who participated in our little exercise in Urban Archaeology. Great group effort. This just goes to show you the enormous pool of talent & knowledge that we have here at TC.

**Mahalo All!

A-A**

"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2005-01-03 13:24 ]