assorted tikis

...I've collected these over a 10-year period...all but 2 figures were made for the tourist trade. They range in era form the 1920's...40's...50's...80's...some common & some unique. The 2 figures on either end of the top shelf are authentic (Hawaiian & Sumatran). The materials used are wood, bone, horn, skin. hair. I made stone mounts for several.

...One of my favorite items is a Hawaiian canoe prow collected in the 1880's. The back was rough-sawn flat & a loop added to enable hanging....collected c. 1907 from a de-acessioned museum collection in Vancouver, BC...I've had it about 10 years...the wood is a lot darker than this flashed shot shows...

[ Edited by: mrwiskers 2006-06-23 14:47 ]

...One of my favorite items is a Hawaiian canoe prow collected in the 1880's. The back was rough-sawn flat & a loop added to enable hanging....collected c. 1907 from a de-acessioned museum collection in Vancouver, BC...I've had it about 10 years...the wood is a lot darker than this flashed shot shows...

where is the 1880's one?
hope it ain't the 2 tiki 29 inch one in the second pic. That is current.

...current?...show me some pics like it.....this iz the real deal, anything but current...it's old...

Well it sure looks like one of those Tourist pieces made by this Samoan family that nowadays has relatives working on several Hawaiian islands, like at the International Marketplace for example.

Ancient Hawaiians did not produce canoe prow carvings, the Tahitians, Marquesans and Maori did. So this COULD be a very early tourist piece...but I am sorry to say, you might have been had here, the style looks very current (and common). There were posts on this style carvings on TC before, but I can't look for them, or post pictures of similar pieces.

Philosophically, this info should not diminish the aesthetic value this piece holds for you personally, off course, but unfortunately, often it does....