Vintage Mai Kai DonQ rum decanter, a closer look. - Collecting Tiki

UT uncle trav Tiki Socialite Kalamazoo Joined: Apr 27, 2005 Posts: 2465	UT uncle trav Posted posted on Fri, Jan 31, 2014 8:30 AM The original Mai kai decanter has always been on my holy grail list. I have never found one in the wild even after years of looking. That changed last night. I received as a birthday gift the long sought after decanter from my sister. She and my brother-in-law are king and queen of Michigan junk. A few weeks ago they found two, yes two vintage Mai Kai decanters sitting side by side on a shelf at the thrift store ! Total price for both was six bucks. Needless to say I was blown away. As I have never seen a vintage decanter in the flesh I was surprised at how small it really is. Measures about nine inches high. Missing the DonQ rum label but still displays great. The decanter has a nice hefty weight for it's size. Made by the Caribe China Co. In Puerto Rico sometime in 1963 or a bit later. The factory operated from the 1950's until it closed in 1977. This is a great molded piece with a two color bisque glaze of gold tones with a weathered wash over that. Looks and feels every bit the ancient idol from some distant island. Here is the patent application drawing for the decanter from 1963. Originally filled with DonQ Eldorado Rum. The one hundred and forty eight year old distillery is still in business today. Here is a close up of the bottom of the decanter with some slag still on it from when it was made. The wood grain molded into the piece is fantastic. The decanter is a good representation of Tangaroa a god of the Cook Islands. Tangaroa was known as the god of the seas. Here is an image of Tangaroa from the British Museum. The Mai Kai design is missing one key element of the original. Just a great classic vintage piece that I am proud to have in my collection. I am not sure if these were sold at the gift shop in the Mai Kai or if it was a marketing idea for liquor stores. I believe these pieces are still very hard to come by. I know there are many vintage Mai Kai decanters spread throughout TC. I thought I'd post the photos of mine for anyone who was interested in taking a closer look. Thanks.

The original Mai kai decanter has always been on my holy grail list. I have never found one in the wild even after years of looking. That changed last night. I received as a birthday gift the long sought after decanter from my sister. She and my brother-in-law are king and queen of Michigan junk. A few weeks ago they found two, yes two vintage Mai Kai decanters sitting side by side on a shelf at the thrift store ! Total price for both was six bucks. Needless to say I was blown away. As I have never seen a vintage decanter in the flesh I was surprised at how small it really is. Measures about nine inches high. Missing the DonQ rum label but still displays great.

The decanter has a nice hefty weight for it's size. Made by the Caribe China Co. In Puerto Rico sometime in 1963 or a bit later. The factory operated from the 1950's until it closed in 1977. This is a great molded piece with a two color bisque glaze of gold tones with a weathered wash over that. Looks and feels every bit the ancient idol from some distant island. Here is the patent application drawing for the decanter from 1963.

Originally filled with DonQ Eldorado Rum. The one hundred and forty eight year old distillery is still in business today.

Here is a close up of the bottom of the decanter with some slag still on it from when it was made.

The wood grain molded into the piece is fantastic.

The decanter is a good representation of Tangaroa a god of the Cook Islands. Tangaroa was known as the god of the seas. Here is an image of Tangaroa from the British Museum. The Mai Kai design is missing one key element of the original.

Just a great classic vintage piece that I am proud to have in my collection. I am not sure if these were sold at the gift shop in the Mai Kai or if it was a marketing idea for liquor stores. I believe these pieces are still very hard to come by. I know there are many vintage Mai Kai decanters spread throughout TC. I thought I'd post the photos of mine for anyone who was interested in taking a closer look. Thanks.

Post #706326 by uncle trav on Fri, Jan 31, 2014 8:30 AM