Post #306324 by bigbrotiki on Mon, May 14, 2007 5:14 PM

I just got this interesting e-mail from Bob at Oceanic Arts:

"Bula Bula Sven:
I noted the thread on T/C of the Oriental Ceramic Tiles.
I believe you are right that Trader Vic first used these. We also sold a lot to George Nakashima over the years.
Originally they were made and imported in TeraCotta and the greenish color was very rich.
When we could not longer get these we had a ceramic firm make these in Ceramic. We had them in the Jade Green, White, Spanish Gold, Red, Turquoise and Cinnabar.
Other colors to order.
Last time we made these up we sold them for $18.50 ea. We did salvage 32 of them from the Pago Pago in Arizona and have about 30 of them left."

So we might never find out how and when exactly Trader Vic's came to use them, but they do seem to be connected with the "Trading in exotic goods" concept. And since his success was a shining example for the other Tiki entrepreneurs, it makes sense that these were accepted as part of the standard decor, and decorators like George Nakashima, who was hired away by Steve Crane from Welton Becket, architect of the Beverly Hills Traders, went on to use them at the Luau, the Mai Kai and the Mauna Loa.
Now we just need to find out about the original, Chinese history of application of these :)