Mystery Tiki - Answering the questions: "Where is this tiki from? "Who made it?" What is it for? - Collecting Tiki

BPB Bay Park Buzzy Tiki Socialite West Bay Park, San Diego, CA Joined: Apr 07, 2006 Posts: 3066	BPB Bay Park Buzzy Posted posted on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 11:12 PM On 2010-07-20 22:21, Zeta wrote: The carver who did these tikis is a real artist and a pioneer. Amazing skills, originality in the theme... Who is he? He's some nameless dude like all the rest of us tiki "artists" who just take inspiration from our predecessors. the one on the left is a copy of this piece from the Austral Islands: the one on the right is based on this hawaiian piece: But it looks like the carver may have referenced something more like this piece for his: the body on his looks referenced by this actual piece to me He really didn;t understand the Hawaiian piece's anatomy. He put two eyes on his under where the real eyes are. Kona style carvings are defined by the abstracted eyes and eyelash details, as well as the whole chin, mouth, tongue complex features. He copied the original eyes without knowing what they were, and then thought it needed eyes under his funny double triangle hat. So, he put some people looking eyes under the tikis eyes. That just looks totally wrong to my eyes. Those modern mass producing Asian carvers do that a lot. Or maybe he wanted 4 eyes because he was an artist. Same signature as that Lockness monster piece you posted earlier, I noticed. That other one up there a post back is a Hawaiian tourist piece based on this piece: Some roadside/International Market place vendor in Hawaii probably carved that one. There are a lot out there like that. I favor those style ones because they look more authentic than the usual Tongan Hawaiian tiki ones that are so very, very common. I can't see anything on that pewter piece that would make me think it was tiki. Consider the medium when you are trying to determine if it's tiki. Ask yourself which islands may have had some sort of metal working tradition. The answer to that question pretty much eliminates any of the original Island cultures, as well as their current souviner markets. Just not that much metal work going on in the Pacific. the metal, and no polynesian/pacific motifs pretty much makes it not tiki, at least to my eyes, and in my mind. Poor pali-ulii, still waiting... Buzzy Out!

On 2010-07-20 22:21, Zeta wrote:
The carver who did these tikis is a real artist and a pioneer. Amazing skills, originality in the theme... Who is he?

He's some nameless dude like all the rest of us tiki "artists" who just take inspiration from our predecessors.

the one on the left is a copy of this piece from the Austral Islands:

the one on the right is based on this hawaiian piece:

But it looks like the carver may have referenced something more like this piece for his:

the body on his looks referenced by this actual piece to me

He really didn;t understand the Hawaiian piece's anatomy. He put two eyes on his under where the real eyes are. Kona style carvings are defined by the abstracted eyes and eyelash details, as well as the whole chin, mouth, tongue complex features. He copied the original eyes without knowing what they were, and then thought it needed eyes under his funny double triangle hat. So, he put some people looking eyes under the tikis eyes. That just looks totally wrong to my eyes. Those modern mass producing Asian carvers do that a lot. Or maybe he wanted 4 eyes because he was an artist. Same signature as that Lockness monster piece you posted earlier, I noticed.

That other one up there a post back is a Hawaiian tourist piece based on this piece:

Some roadside/International Market place vendor in Hawaii probably carved that one. There are a lot out there like that. I favor those style ones because they look more authentic than the usual Tongan Hawaiian tiki ones that are so very, very common.

I can't see anything on that pewter piece that would make me think it was tiki. Consider the medium when you are trying to determine if it's tiki. Ask yourself which islands may have had some sort of metal working tradition. The answer to that question pretty much eliminates any of the original Island cultures, as well as their current souviner markets. Just not that much metal work going on in the Pacific. the metal, and no polynesian/pacific motifs pretty much makes it not tiki, at least to my eyes, and in my mind.

Poor pali-ulii, still waiting...
Buzzy Out!

Post #543692 by Bay Park Buzzy on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 11:12 PM