Indentity/Orgin of this tiki? I now know it is a Barney West Tiki!

Can anyone tell me about this guy..?

Not familiar with the style or where it might be from?

Thanks,

PTD

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2010-06-22 05:28 ]

This guy is a variation on the PNG Trader Vic logo Tiki (not the Maori one). Tikis of this 2 foot size used to populate the underlit shelves that lined the walls at most Trader Vics (together with coral, Tridacna shells and beachcomber items)...and they were mostly carved by Barney West. Barney did many variations on this specific PNG design. Though the face is not that impressive, the body hints towards a West. There should be more of this size Barneys around, considering how many I have seen in the remaining Vics in my travels.

I'd never thought I would have reason to post this one, but as an example that Barney was not ALWAYS at his best it now works:
When I was researching the BOT in the 90s, I had lunch with Hans Richter and two of the Trader's sons in Emeryville, and one of them pulled out this statue, which had been given to him by Barney. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I thought it not to be one of Barney's best works, so I photographed it:

So your guy might not be a top of the line example, but a Barney West nevertheless

Thanks for confirming this, I think?

I was pretty sure it was a Barney West based on this image from an earlier posting you made Big Bro...

Kind of hard to see in this image, but it is the same style. The seller's story confirms my suspicions as well; he is from Marin, so in all likelihood this is a Barney West. While I agree this may not be his finest version of tiki, I am happy I now own a Barney West tiki!

See you over in Tiki Finds

PTD

You're damn right to be happy, few people do own one, me excluded !

I KNEW I knew that lecherous grin from somewhere.... here is a better photo of his bigger brother, hanging with his pals at Tiki Junction:

It is also can be found on page 247 in the BOT.

And JP's Tiki Magazine article on Barney has a better scan of that catalog page also. Both courtesy of the Oceanic Arts archive. :)

Am looking forward to 1 or 2 good photos of him...

Ok, no doubt, you got the real thing! Next time you gotta post a better picture, the first made it look like a late period hack job, but this is not as bad a specimen as I thought! This IS indeed the one in the BOT:

Very nice. A great find.

Folks, this is proof that steady, repeated searching brings rewards!

The original picture I posted was one the seller had. There were actually two posted, the second being this one...

I did some research here based on what I thought the design appeared to be and tried not to give too much away by asking the question in this thread.

I have learned one can't be too careful these days, especially when it comes to having potential purchases sabatoged.

For the record, I asked the seller if he knew anything about the carver. He said he did not. He told me his dad worked for a storage place in the Bay Area and this was something he was given along the way. I mentioned I thought it might have been carved by an artist named Barney West and asked him if he was sure he wanted to sell it. He said he was sure and we made a deal. Very nice guy.

PTD

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2010-06-21 18:23 ]

PTD,

Congrats on scoring the Barney West Tiki! Purchase of a lifetime, and, coincident with the great Barney West arcticle in this issue of Tiki Magazine.

DC

On 2010-06-21 18:21, Psycho Tiki D wrote:
The original picture I posted was one the seller had...

I figured. But for a while you sounded like you had better pictures already....and then you struck silently and swiftly!
Good for you! :)

You know you can always p.m. me in such "secret" cases.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-06-22 08:27 ]

What an awesome find PTD... Barney made some awesome tiki's in his day.. How cool would it have been to see his Tiki Junction back then.. WoW.... Score!

Based on the information from the catalog, this was item "K""New Guinea Happy Tiki.

Based on my euphoria...I am "Happy Tiki Guy".

I am looking forward to reading the article in the current Tiki Magazine. Sadly, the shop carrying Tiki Magazine has not received the Summer 2010 edition, I will have to wait.

Thanks big bro for your help!

PTD

WHOA!!! Line for line, that is the actual tiki from the BOT! Sven, good eyes!

That is one of my favorite tikis that Barney West carved, you are super lucky to own it!

My last mug "PuPu"(below) was definitelly influenced by Barney's tiki in the middle, right next to yours, only I didn't realize it until this post. I've always loved thinking of Barney West carving tikis near the docks, living like a salty craggy beachcomber.

Was the original photograph from OA from that Tiki Junction shot, or was it a post card?

On 2010-06-24 23:56, tikitony wrote:
Was the original photograph from OA from that Tiki Junction shot, or was it a post card?

Just a little square color polaroid, same than that great color photo of him in his Ku chair.

One of my favourite old-school carvers. All the tikis in that photo are amazingly playful and so full of character. Excellent find!

Thank you to everyone who has replied here and off the thread.

I do consider this find the cornerstone of all my finds and that is hard to gauge because I have had some amazing luck or blessings in my hunting to locate items.

I am really excited about the prospect of perhaps one more turning up; the seller mentioned he still had a few more back at home in Marin. I asked him to please keep me in mind if he decides to sell them and asked him at the very least to send me some pictures the next time he goes home. I told him if I couldn't afford to buy them, I knew there would be some interest among the tiki collecting community in them. I believe the person I bought these from is a student and could probably use the extra cash...I am encouraged in the fact he contacted me after this sale and wrote "I'll keep you in mind for other tikis I might have lying around".

So who knows...there may be a couple of more Barney West tikis "lying around" in Marin!

PTD

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2010-06-25 08:14 ]

Great find PTD!!

I like that a Nor Cal Tiki has a new home in Nor Cal it's a very happy ending, then add that there may be more out there you can't help but smile when reading that =** DOUBLE HAPPY ENDING!** :D

Please don't think I say Nor Cal on a regular basis.

On 2010-06-25 08:13, Psycho Tiki D wrote:
really excited about the prospect of perhaps one more turning up; the seller mentioned he still had a few more back at home in Marin. I asked him to please keep me in mind if he decides to sell them and asked him at the very least to send me some pictures the next time he goes home. I told him if I couldn't afford to buy them, I knew there would be some interest among the tiki collecting community in them. I believe the person I bought these from is a student and could probably use the extra cash...I am encouraged in the fact he contacted me after this sale and wrote "I'll keep you in mind for other tikis I might have lying around".
So who knows...there may be a couple of more Barney West tikis "lying around" in Marin!

Wow! That would be amazing...IF they are of the same caliber. Not to put a damper on this, but I often had the experience that folks who don't know "Tiki" can't really tell one apart from the other, and that they make you fantasize about Tiki treasures that turn out to be some painted palm fronts. They see you're excitement, they want to please....As I said, not to belittle the possibility, but by experience I am always a cautious sceptic until I SEE it with my own eyes. Once I saw this one (in PTD's pics), I got REALLY excited :)

This was great reading. Congrats PTD. Wendy

I would love to have a Barney. Not the purple one.

great score, duane!