Possible Guanko tiki find?

Found this old tiki out in the city of Orange. The seller said it had been in her in-laws backyard for the last 40 years. Several details say “Milano” to me but I’m not an expert. In the BOT there’s photos showing Milan tikis with the same eyes, nose, mouth, etc...but I realize there must’ve been style copycats.
Can anyone confirm?

I am no expert on this but it is a nice tiki in pretty good condition for being in a yard for 40 years! I would first research all possible places around the area here on TC from 40 years ago, look for pics and see if any tikis look similar. Ideally you would want to find an old picture of the Tiki in an establishment. Spend some hours on TC looking for restaurants and apt complexes in the Socal area. For that matter, look at what places in Socal closed 40 years ago? Late 70s/early80s is when many a great places closed down - the Luau, Don the Beachcombers, etc...

Secondly, I would go to the source - Oceanic Arts and ask them what their thoughts are. They might have well carved it!!!

Nice find...

Also look up who has lived at the house where it was "in her in-laws backyard"
Could be someone with a connection to a Tiki bar/owner worker.

At the Kahiki they had a tiki that never went into the Kahiki but went to someone right when the Kahiki opened.
It was going to go in but for some reason did not.

So it may have been overflow from some tiki bar.

Ask the neighbors maybe they heard stories too.

Thanks for tips Tattoo & Skip!

I regret not digging deeper with the seller about its history. She had it listed as an "ancient Hawaiian totem pole" so I figured she wouldn't be of much help in regards to his roots. When I did ask about it, her story was that her husband's parents brought it home from Hawaii 40 years ago. He lived most all his life with them until their son and wife, who live down the street, recently traded the parents for their garden windmill. Now they're moving and trying to lighten the load. I happily adopted him.

I've just now sent the previous owner a text apologizing for any inconvenience and asked if she could find out if her in-laws remember any specifics about where they got it. Fingers crossed!

Yeah ya don't want to ask too many questions as they start thinkin hey what's this thing really worth.

Found a Frankoma mug, the Cultured pearl one at a store and it was an ok price well she said her brother had lots of Frankoma.
Never did go back to see if they put more out.

She said it was "ugly"

While I'm still waiting on more backstory from the seller's family, I received this email from Oceanic Arts...

"Aloha Ryan:
LeRoy and I checked the tiki out and feel there is a good chance it was carved by Milan. Sven still
has our brochure on Milans Tiki's so we could not check more closely. Milan worked from the Nursery
in Costa Mesa, so he was nearby.
Thanks for writing,
Bob"

Yep, that's a Milan Guanko, and in such good condition for being outside ! Nice clean lines, great find, congrats ! I bet they had it under a porch roof, away from the sprinklers, or some place like that.

I wish I HAD a brochure for Milan Guanko Tikis - I have never seen one, not at Oceanic Arts or anywhere else. Memory gets hazy: O.A. had a Barney West brochure, and they still should have it, but I've never seen anything like that for Milan's work.

The best reference is still that nursery photo in the BOT, because it shows the greatest variety of his output

I'm certainly no expert, but it has the hallmarks of a Guanko tiki to me.

Regardless looks like a great find! Congrats.

:drink:

Cheers!

[ Edited by: finky099 2018-04-20 06:37 ]

On 2018-04-19 08:48, bigbrotiki wrote:
Yep, that's a Milan Guanko, and in such good condition for being outside ! Nice clean lines, great find, congrats ! I bet they had it under a porch roof, away from the sprinklers, or some place like that.

I wish I HAD a brochure for Milan Guanko Tikis - I have never seen one, not at Oceanic Arts or anywhere else. Memory gets hazy: O.A. had a Barney West brochure, and they still should have it, but I've never seen anything like that for Milan's work.

The best reference is still that nursery photo in the BOT, because it shows the greatest variety of his output

Thanks for the info Sven! He is in decent condition, definitely "shows" well....however the top of his head and under the base are rotted out hollow pretty bad. I'm guessing termites and water damage. Any tips on methods that could help preserve him would be greatly appreciated!

On 2018-04-20 06:36, finky099 wrote:
I'm certainly no expert, but it has the hallmarks of a Guanko tiki to me.
Regardless looks like a great find! Congrats.
:drink:
Cheers!

Thanks Finky!

Ryan, congrats on a fantastic find. Here is a link to a restoration I did on another historic tiki that had similar damage as yours. Don't let it overwhelm you because preservation of the carving is paramount. Get it stabilized and then PUT IT INDOORS!! Good Luck.

Discovery & Restoration of vintage Oceanic Arts tiki in Kansas City, MO and now, AMAZING chapter 2 !
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6515&forum=1&hilite=Discovery%20&%20Restoration%20of%20vintage%20Oceanic%20Arts%20tiki%20in%20Kansas%20City,%20MO%20and%20now,%20AMAZING%20chapter%202%20!

I once was lost.....but now I'm found.....

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki 2018-04-22 09:50 ]

You can also go to Oceanic Arts for advice in restoration. Here is the work they did for the Tracer Vic's Chicago Barney West...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=43783&forum=5&start=15

Although this might be a bit more extreme than you need and want.

And looking at it.. the damage seem to be minimal... Maybe you don't want to do much beyond a simple cleaning and coating (Tung oil/wax). I have found great success with Tung Oil. Easy to apply and gives great coat with minimal invasiveness to original product. Biut I've only dealt with smaller tikis and Witco items. Not sure if this is right for your Tiki though. Ask some of the modern carvers for their thoughts maybe...

[ Edited by: tattoo 2018-04-22 13:25 ]

Thanks for those links fellas! Great threads!
I'll be talking with OA and some locals about options on preservation. I have zero interest in messing with or destroying history, so I want to be responsible about how he's treated.

[ Edited by: Ryan Partridge 2018-04-23 08:32 ]