Tiki Finds

I've been a tiki mug/junk collector for many years, thought you might get a kick out of a pic from part of my collection. They've gotten harder to find in recent years, now I know why- all youse guys are buyin' em up! I don't think I've paid more than about $3 for any one of these. Loads of fun. I also have 2 of the large Witco guitars and figures. If interested I'll upload pics of that stuff too. Also have several really nice vintage bars. Oh, none is for sale, so don't hit me with offers, just sharing pics.

[ Edited by: oogahboogah 2006-08-08 22:37 ]

[ Edited by: oogahboogah 2006-08-08 22:38 ]

You've got a Severed Head Mug! WOW...you da man!!!

Sure- but I live in Texas. We find Ren Clark stuff all the time. If it isn't mint, we just toss in in the shredder.

here's the witco stuff I mentioned. At least, i assume that is what it is.
I did see similar 2 guitars in someone else's photos. I don't have the 3rd guitar they had, just these 2 here in my pics (but now I gotta hunt for that 3rd guitar!). These pics make them seem pretty mundane, but let me tell you these guitars are huge and heavy and about the size of real guitars! they are REALLY cool! someone should make something similar with real pickups and see what kind of funky sound they could make. The 2 framed carved pics of the hawaiians are huge too, like about 5 foot high, very heavy. All this stuff came together from an estate. OK these are crappy pics, but what the heck.

[ Edited by: oogahboogah 2006-08-08 23:02 ]

On 2006-08-08 22:40, oogahboogah wrote:
Sure- but I live in Texas. We find Ren Clark stuff all the time. If it isn't mint, we just toss in in the shredder.

WHERE in Texas???

WOW, We found a new fellow texan friend, Kenike.

LOL yeah Ren Clark is just turning up every where, oh well one day I'll find the head.

Great finds there, oogahboogah. I'd like to stop by if my wahine and I are in the area to visit.

[ Edited by: Unkle John 2006-08-09 20:10 ]

Maine has been better than usual lately:

2 sets of Steve Crane S&P shakers, one from the Luau, one from Kon Tiki Ports, 3 Leilanis (59 cents each), Lucky Menehune (mismarked as a buddha), a Forbidden Island mug that mysteriously showed up on my doorstep :wink: and a Treasure Craft ashtray with Hawaiian sites around the outside.

(if anyone has advice on the best way to get rid of the cig soot on the ashtray, please let me know)

Also, not tiki, but cool is this set of mid-century modern candleholders we got for 50 cents for both.

and most amusing is this Ti-Ti Tree novelty item.
the packaging is great, and the actual item plays with the term "Ti-Ti" by having little plastic breasts as the flowers.

..sbim

Smokin' finds sbim!
Thrift stores? Antique stores? Or Flea Markets?

On 2006-08-10 13:25, The Granite Tiki wrote:
Smokin' finds sbim!
Thrift stores? Antique stores? Or Flea Markets?

All of the above. The total outlay of cash for all this was $28.

..sbim

SBiM you have all the luck man. I stumble upon something that barely qualifies as Tiki in RI every 6 months or so. Maybe I'm not broadening my search enough??? I'll post my catches here soon (it ain't much!).

Aloha,
Well, the Tiki drought I've been experiencing let up a little bit the other day...
Picked up this interesting version of the Trader Vic's Coffee Grog mug. This one is a wee bit smaller than the black version, especially the part on the top of the head where you drink from. This version is unmarked and made of a brown/red clay with very crisp details (hard to tell from the crappy photo).
Anyone have info/ideas? Early version... Home ceramics project... ?
Mahalo,
:tiki:

I'm baaack!! My computer died a horrible death about three weeks ago and after going through denial, anger, bargaining and depression (not to mention severe TC withdrawal), I finally accepted that it was more cost-effective to replace than to repair it. I love my new little mac mini and huge LCD monitor. I had some pretty good luck at the thrifts in the past few weeks - here's what I found since last I was able to post to my beloved TC:

homemade (?) mug marked Tiki Tiki on bottom (see below)
Kon Tiki Sun God mug
stylized tiki mug with inset handle (see below)
Coconut mug marked Canada (see below)

wooden tourist tiki
Tiki Farm Giant Ku mug with handle, Moai swizzles, both from Funhauser Decor (a gift from my sister)
Daga surfer (a gift from Slacks Ferret)
3-faced bucket mug

lovely Coco Joe wahine wall plaque

Oh yeah, I forgot about this guy:

At first glance I thought it might be a cool old decanter, but the tag with the bar code quickly disabused me of that idea. It's a fertility god from the "Ancient Hawaii Tiki Collection" from the KC Company, Aiea, Hawaii. I also thought at first that it was wood but now I'm pretty sure it's some kind of plastic.

At the flea market a ways back I picked out this thingie for $5.

I have absolutely no clue what the hell it is. What I do know is that the top bulb is a coconut shell, and discovered if you twist the top neck...

Anyone know what it is? Everyone I ask are completely baffled. Needs a good dusting, maybe a polish, and'll look good with something sitting in the opened 'flower'.

On 2006-08-13 21:06, twitch wrote:
At the flea market a ways back I picked out this thingie for $5.

...

Anyone know what it is? Everyone I ask are completely baffled. Needs a good dusting, maybe a polish, and'll look good with something sitting in the opened 'flower'.

Well, now that you opened it up, expect these guys to show up any time now:

..sbim

Those BASTARDS!
Wait... what?

You DIDN'T Let the thing Out that was inside DID YOU???

Well, yeah... but it was smiling, and...
OK, OK - I give up! What's everyone talking about? Did I unleash some kind of kiapolo or something?? Is this why I can never find any tikis!?

Looks like the Egg from the alien movies, you released a "Face hugger"!!

On 2006-08-13 15:34, Sweet Daddy Tiki wrote:
Oh yeah, I forgot about this guy:

At first glance I thought it might be a cool old decanter, but the tag with the bar code quickly disabused me of that idea. It's a fertility god from the "Ancient Hawaii Tiki Collection" from the KC Company, Aiea, Hawaii. I also thought at first that it was wood but now I'm pretty sure it's some kind of plastic.

I think they sell those at Walmart in Hawaii.

They were selling them at the mighty Mai Kai last year.

On 2006-08-13 21:06, twitch wrote:
At the flea market a ways back I picked out this thingie for $5.

I have absolutely no clue what the hell it is. What I do know is that the top bulb is a coconut shell, and discovered if you twist the top neck...

Anyone know what it is? Everyone I ask are completely baffled. Needs a good dusting, maybe a polish, and'll look good with something sitting in the opened 'flower'.

Looks like a Midevil Torture Device.

There was a touring exhibit a few moons ago that had something like that called the rectal pear. It's probably worth millions.

Torture device. When you used that on GROG last night B-Ben, you said it was a sex toy.

No no no. Not for a lack of trying, but this is MUCH too big for that kind of application, standing at 15" tall, bulb at 4" wide.

That was s'posed to read, "Not that I've tried ...". Damn.

twitch wrote:
At the flea market a ways back I picked out this thingie for $5.

I have absolutely no clue what the hell it is. What I do know is that the top bulb is a coconut shell, and discovered if you twist the top neck...

Anyone know what it is? Everyone I ask are completely baffled. Needs a good dusting, maybe a polish, and'll look good with something sitting in the opened 'flower'.

Put... the kendle... BECK!

Grog, Bamboo Ben, you guys are out of control funny, you are killing me.

I'm not sure if this is a Polynesian tiki or an African variety, but when you don't live in tiki laden California you take what you can get.

Brought this home from the flea market today, it's about 12" tall. I got it for $1 per inch.

Velvet!

good times...

they got the corks in em too looks to be never used.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2014-04-23 18:49 ]

Nice velvet FZ!

What else can you tell me about yr recent find Twahine? It's pretty cool...is it PNG?

I'd say it's definitely a PNG carving, and it looks quite old.

"Tribes along the Sepik river in Papua New Guinea have a special relationship with crocodiles - a devotion to them reflected in carvings, paintings and "coming of age" ceremonies."

Their cultural links with the Sepik river are symbolized in many of their ancient and spiritual rituals, such as the manhood initiation. This requires painful carving of flesh on the backs of young men with razor blades. Patterns are that of a crocodile lying on the banks of the river.

My little carving seems to have these 'crocodile skin' patterns in addition to two crocodile heads, so I would say it could very well be from the Sepik region.

On 2006-08-21 16:40, Tikiwahine wrote:
I'd say it's definitely a PNG carving, and it looks quite old.

"Tribes along the Sepik river in Papua New Guinea have a special relationship with crocodiles - a devotion to them reflected in carvings, paintings and "coming of age" ceremonies."

Their cultural links with the Sepik river are symbolized in many of their ancient and spiritual rituals, such as the manhood initiation. This requires painful carving of flesh on the backs of young men with razor blades. Patterns are that of a crocodile lying on the banks of the river.

My little carving seems to have these 'crocodile skin' patterns in addition to two crocodile heads, so I would say it could very well be from the Sepik region.

Cousteau (Sr and Jr) did a lot of filming in PNG and you can find the VHS vids on ebay for pretty cheap. The group spent more time studying the cultures than the sea life and the documentaries are VERY interesting. I particularly enjoyed the bit on the Asaro Mudmen. Tikiwahine, you might want to look for the one titled "River of the Crocodile Men." They discuss and film the rituals you mention above. Look for them on ebay or Amazon.

Cool, thanks Kono! I will definitely look into that. I'd like to know more about how this particular carving might have been used.

We have a fantastic local gallery that specializes in PNG carvings and art, though much of it is new, they like to support the artists. There are quite a few carvings for sale on their website, here.

Coco Joe, no date on it. Value Village, 1.99. Small, but nice.

Found these Coco Joes Book ends today!

Also found that blue vase too. (I'll probably keep it and put a tropical flower in it.)

Found four of these small tiki dudes last month. I've already given 2 away:

The coconut mug is about 25% smaller than a regular T.V. coconut. Anyone recognize it? It has no distinguishable markings, but looks like it was used as a drink mug.

Nice find Wahine.

Latest stuff:

Coco Joe Hula Dancer Desk Set (HW31) in its original shrink wrap - for a buck!

Hawaii Cookbook and Backyard Luau (1967) by Elizabeth Ahn Toupin with an introduction by James Michener. Beautifully illustrated (by Natalie Williams):

-Sweet Daddy T.
Because crap doesn't buy itself.

[ Edited by: Sweet Daddy Tiki 2006-08-22 00:19 ]

Great finds sweet daddy!
I've never seen that hula gal before, nor that particular cook book.

Seems like Canadians did a lot of travelling to get away from the cold, which is why we find so many coco joe's/hip & souvenir mugs. Course I have no excuse, since it never snows in Victoria. But we do have one of the largest populations of retirees. I've been well trained in the art of fist shaking since I was 5.

Looks like I'm gonna have to get over to the island - Vancouver's pretty empty!
(or I have a chronic case of going to the thrifts on the wrong days...)

On 2006-08-22 17:07, twitch wrote:
Looks like I'm gonna have to get over to the island - Vancouver's pretty empty!
(or I have a chronic case of going to the thrifts on the wrong days...)

Sure... if you want to end up with concrete boots...

The island is mine, mine I say!

muhahaha!

well ok, you can have anything north of Victoria.

I've been finding some interesting stuff lately. In addition to a nifty scrapbook that I found, I also came across these:

An Islander head mug (or whatever it is called), a couple of Bali Hai San Diego matchbooks from the 1970s(?), and a matchbook from the Kauai Surf.

Bottom of the Islander mug

I also found this menu from United Airlines, probably used on their flights to Hawaii

Inside of the menu

Colorful print on the back.

Great finds tikipedia! That scrap book is too cool for school.

[ Edited by: Handsome Dan 2006-08-23 13:53 ]

On 2006-08-22 19:06, tikipedia wrote:

Colorful print on the back.

That is beautiful, it would make a great framed print. Any chance of a closer view of the Marquesan face on that matchbook?

On 2006-08-22 19:04, Tikiwahine wrote:
well ok, you can have anything north of Victoria.

Woo-hoo! Uh, wait... Well, at least you're leaving me open to add on to my collection of tundra samples.:)
(twitch dons ninja uniform, pays $50 ferry ticket, stealthily plunders Victoria thrifts by night...)

OK - I did manage to nab this Daga Eyeless Ku mug lately. Does anyone know the story of these? Were there ever tops, or did they just not know how to do eyes?

On 2006-08-23 14:15, Paipo wrote:
That is beautiful, it would make a great framed print. Any chance of a closer view of the Marquesan face on that matchbook?

Here ya go...