Post #428399 by bigbrotiki on Mon, Jan 12, 2009 1:16 PM

Spiked, please show a pic from the side when you get it, I'd like to see the headdress. I own a generic no-name mug from this mold:

I always likened it to a monkey, or a Pekinese, because of its "cute" design, and always felt it to be borderline Tiki, more pre-Columbian, probably because A.) I picked it up at a flea market in Tijuana, B.) its rounded off facial and body features, which made it more akin to Aztec sculpture like this:

Furthermore, the seated, arms-wrapped-around-the-legs posture is exceedingly rare in ancient South Sea sculpture (just now I could not find an example in my vast Oceanic Art library).

Yet, that fact did not keep the concept from being used in mid-century Tiki culture (even if seldom), as evidenced in this support post photographed in situ at the Shelter Isle apartments:

...and, most importantly, seen in the direct cousin to the generic ceramics above, the very rare Johnny Quong mug:

..which, because of the unique Tiki empire founded by Johnny, and the fact that it served virgin cocktails, is a highly desirable cult object.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-01-12 16:49 ]