vintage 4 foot carved tiki head- any info?

I posted waay back that somebody came to my shop (when I still had one) & offered to sell me this guy because he heard I was into tiki.
The condition is kind of rough & the neck is broken at the bottom. It might of had a body once? I have no idea where this came from, so who knows.
I truly hope it wasnt heinously pilfered from somewhwere, the guy I bought it from was sort of sketchy.
I still havent done anything to it. I was going to paint it all black again to minimize the effect of the chipping & affix it to some kind of base. It would have to be a sturdy base, cause this piece is HEAVY!
I really dig this design & it is clearly vintage.
Does anyone have a clue as to the style/carver/age?
Any info would be great!

Why, if it isn't a beheaded "BIKU".
Made by Witco as early as 1964 this 84 inch tall Tiki had a body with an emasciated ripcage with lil'hands stuck underneath that looked as weird as his face.
That torched swamp cedar grain always is a telltale sign. This one must have been outside, which gives the wood that grey, dried out look.

BBTD, will make you a xerox once I find the image.

damn, ask & you shall recieve!
Thanks BigBro-
I thought it looked semi Witco-ish with the wood grain pattern, but the size threw me off. I didnt think Witco made freestanding carvings quite that large.

Wow, now I cant wait to see the the complete carving, at 7 feet tall it must be seriously outrageous!!
Now I almost wish I didnt know. My guy seems a little more sad & incomplete, a mere fraction of the big weird tiki man he once was...

On 2002-11-13 21:15, bigbadtikidaddy wrote:

Now I almost wish I didnt know. My guy seems a little more sad & incomplete, a mere fraction of the big weird tiki man he once was...

Don't be sad, remember, this is urban archeology, you are in the posession of a rare FRAGMENT of an ancient Witco carving!

I would darken and age the chipped parts, let them differ in tone though, and then mount it "modern" style on a black iron rod stuck in a square dark brown wood base. Then put a brass plaque on the base that has engraved on it:
"Authentic head fragment of BIKU, by WITCO. ca. 1964"
Voila! You have a gallery style artefact now!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2002-11-14 21:06 ]

Sorry, I can't get this picture up, but here's a link to my Yahoo photo page. The 2nd photo is of two tall tikis that stand in front of the Aku Tiki Inn, Daytona Beach. I believe these are similar to yours.
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/kailuageoff/lst?.dir=/Yahoo!+Photo+Album&.view=t

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2002-11-14 14:09 ]

Ah, yeah, no...those are from 1969, simply called "Polynesian Tiki", 8 foot tall, almost cubist in style.
Man, that Biku you have had a really thin neck, a pencil neck Biku so to say, maybe it was weathered/withered away...
I found him in a 64 and a 68 catalogue (only in B&W), both with sturdier features..
but that WEIRD body...

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2002-11-14 21:03 ]

Yeah, the little bit that is left of the neck is so thin I wondered whether it ever had a body, or how it would support a head.
I would think one good tip-over would've done it.

I would really love to see the pic you have bigbro.
I will eventually fix it up when the right base presents itself.
I'm not too sad, at laeast I got the good part!
I think I'll name him "Mini-Biku"...

[ Edited by: bigbadtikidaddy on 2002-11-15 10:13 ]