Post #662392 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Dec 25, 2012 8:25 PM

I just found this (and quoted the original post so folks know what the heck we're talking about). What a great specimen, I have never seen one with the Cannibal concept! I am pretty sure it hails from Tahiti, i'd be interested what O.A. has to say.

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On 2012-12-21 00:55, tikijackalope wrote:
I hadn't found anything interesting enough to report here in ages and then I picked up this wood (palm?) tiki in an antique mall near Wichita, KS, a couple days ago. It's about 36" tall and a tag on it read "totem tiki from Hawaii." I can find no identifying markings on it.

Tourist trade tiki? Restaurant decor refugee? Hobby carving? I've left a message for the dealer asking for more info but have not heard back. Any input as to where this might have come from would be appreciated.

I'm happy to have this, but it sure makes my Orchids of Hawaii tikis look even gaudier.

[ Edited by: tikijackalope 2012-12-21 00:57 ]

Since old Tahiti did not have a strong carving tradition, carvers from the Marquesas came over to make money in the trade and so posts in this style were used for local houses and hotels, here an example at the Royal Tahitian Hotel outside of Papeete:

(...which was a mainland USA development). These "Tahitian" Tikis were imported to the US for Tiki temple decor, and eventually the style was copied by American carvers. This one at the Bali Hai San Diego has some similar features to yours:

I like the deep grooves around the facial features and the wrap-around mouth, giving it a highly stylized, almost abstract look -which sometimes led to these being mounted upside down :)

Here's a little bit on the "Tahitian style":

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2012-12-25 20:27 ]