eBay: Kona Kai Entrance Posts - Kansas City

Saw this on ebay. If true WOW!

This auction is for a vintage decorative entrance way post that came from the old "Kona Kai" Tiki Restaurant and Bar that used to be in Kansas City.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WITCO-OCEANIC-ARTS-TIKI-POST-POLE-KONA-KAI-BAR_W0QQitemZ330287110151QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item330287110151&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Here is a postcard from the Kona Kai in KC that was posted by Tikigrl

Looks like a cool score.

DC

Very nice indeed DC

Those actually came from the witco showroom in kansas city.
They framed the top of the booth.
You can see the edge of them on the very first page of tiki modern.
That photo is a larger post card that got croped on top.
If you look close at the auction photo, you can see the hooks that
the "witco gallery" sign hung on.

I won these same pieces 2 years ago on ebay (they were posted here on t.c.)
I paid for them , but never recieved them.
I'm not sure if it is the same seller, but they are the same pieces.

Wow, now I remember, Kiara! I lauded your Witco-vision for picking out their real origin back then, and now again, them being shown upright as "posts", I didn't see it, I just knew something was wrong. Did you nail the seller back then and he got shut down? Was that offer from Kansas City, too? Same guy, change of name maybe?

It's funny that, though these show no sign of Polynesian style, the seller is trying to up their value by claiming Kona Kai or O.A. heritage, and gets it totally wrong. Like the vendor that once tried to sell me a Witco fountain as being originally from The Luau.

What are you going to do about this? I mean these are, though only valuable to the Witco nut, very distinct pieces. I can bear witness as to their origin if you need me to prove that to e-bay court. You own them.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-11-20 23:42 ]

I lost a $100 on them last time and had to just let it go.
The seller kept telling me they were having trouble sending them
because of the size.We went back and forth forever and eventually
they stoped communicating with me.

I really don't know if its the same person, but this auction
is from the same city as the last one a couple of years ago.

What I really want is the "witco" sign that hung from them.

they look like the side rails of a spanish stye WITCO bed.

they are carved "hacienda" style.

Hmmm, the seller ended the auction. I wonder if they got some "love letters" from people reading this thread :)

The "posts" are back up. The seller has been reading TC and gave more of an accurate description.

"IN THE BOOK TIKI MODERN PUBLISHED BY TASCHEN THERE IS A PICTURE OF THE OLD WITCO GALLERY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP OF THE PHOTO NEAR THE "WITCO GALLERY" SIGN, YOU CAN SEE ONE OF THESE POSTS HOLDING THE SIGN!, I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS THE SAME POST OR NOT BUT IT VERY WELL COULD BE!"

Aaaaah, or it was one of those kindred spirits here on TC that see it as their mission to inform the sellers of the true nature of an esoteric Tiki object, transforming them from ignorance to knowledge! (cue music)

I should have checked this thread before I bought a pair on ebay, I bought these to frame a doorway.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330324527170

I am going to send someone to pick these up. Can anyone tell me if it is the same seller?

thanks

Amy

[ Edited by: Queen Kamehameha 2009-04-23 15:28 ]

how can any of you be sure it's the same posts and the same seller when everything witco made was in multiples....there are more carved rails out there...these are not the only ones ever made nor can you say with certainty that these are the ones from the witco showroom......this rail style could have been from all of the above....the spanish bed, the witco showroom frame and the kona kai.......i'm just sayin...

" In a perfect world...Elvis would still be alive ....and all the elvis impersonators would be dead!!"

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-04-26 07:07 ]

Hardwood floors, light green walls, and succulent plants in terracotta pots? I'll bet it's the same house in both photo's.

[ Edited by: AlienTiki 2009-04-26 10:58 ]

Well, I got a few PM's that this seller is a great guy and not the original seller, nor do I know if they are the same pieces as referenced above,I never asked for documentation and he only states they look like the ones in Sven's book. I am sending a friend to pick them up.

Tipsy, I agree with you I asked because I bought them without checking TC first and then found this post. I don't really care if they were a sign, a bed rail or anything else special or not, I hardly ever believe anything that is on eBay without verification, I got them to frame a door in a new structure I will have built and I liked them a lot, and they are Witco, So they are special to me.

Thanks to all who PM'd me.

Alien, yes, the similarity of the 2 photos and location is what made me post this in the first place :) I was worried I was scammed but thank goodness I wasn't.

Thanks all,

Amy

[ Edited by: Queen Kamehameha 2009-04-26 11:57 ]

All, just an update, my friend picked up these witco boards and the seller was very nice.

Thanks for all the help

Amy

Really glad to hear your weren't scammed but they really do look like the same beams -- look at the quirks of the carved detail and especially the grain as it passes through that detail on the 'lower' areas where it is most obvious.

The color difference is because of the flash.

1. The contour of the beam matches on both

2. Things like the little divot to the right of the triangle second up from the bottom of the one on the left side.

3. The grain matches up exactly as it runs through the carved shapes.

4. Another quirk in the wood that matches up.

When you blow it up, the details match wherever you look.

May not be the same seller but they sure look like the same actual beams.
Sorry, it just kind of stood out to me.

[ Edited by: Mr. Pupu Pants 2009-04-30 12:53 ]