Polystone Inc. Tiki Figures

I picked up a really neat tiki while over in Hawaii made by a company called polystone inc. Does anyone have any information about this company?

The figure is called "Ki'i":

On the bottom of the tiki it says "Polystone Inc.", the number "9" in a box, the date "1961", then finally it says "Hawaii".

I'm assuming these were tourist trinkets, and House of Ku posted another version of Ki'i (#4) in this thread:

Lava Figures ~ NOT Coco Joes or HIP

anyone else have any other versions? or information about the company?

thanks!

No info about the company, but "Ki'i" is the correct Hawaiian term for "Tiki", just like the Tahitian "Ti'i" stands for god figure. Only the Marquesan and the Maori language used the word "Tiki". The Hawaiians replaced the T with a K, as in "Tapu" ("Taboo") becoming "Kapu", and "Tahiti" becoming "Kahiki".

On 2008-04-17 17:26, bigbrotiki wrote:
No info about the company, but "Ki'i" is the correct Hawaiian term for "Tiki", just like the Tahitian "Ti'i" stands for god figure. Only the Marquesan and the Maori language used the word "Tiki". The Hawaiians replaced the T with a K, as in "Tapu" ("Taboo") becoming "Kapu", and "Tahiti" becoming "Kahiki".

Thanks for the info, bigbro. I know the hawaiians have a very short alphabet, but I never made that connection between the different words. Interesting stuff.

Aloha Polynesiac! Nice find. Did you find this at the collector Show a few months back? There was a vender from the Big Island who had a pair of those that were uniquely weathered. I ended up buying a Tiki pendant from him. :)

These, except one on the left, are marked as #1's, Menehune

Freddie

I found the same Polystone Ki'i figure this week in a Thrift Store & came looking for info on him. They are nicely done with good detail.
It looks like not a lot is known about the Polystone figures - this one & a Menehune I found in other posts.

On 2008-04-18 19:08, HOUSE OF KU wrote:
Aloha Polynesiac! Nice find. Did you find this at the collector Show a few months back? There was a vender from the Big Island who had a pair of those that were uniquely weathered. I ended up buying a Tiki pendant from him. :)

Hi Freddie! Sorry it took me over 2 years to get back to this thread, but no. I purchased them on the big island outside of Kona. He may very well have been the same dealer, as he had another set at his shop. Definitely going back to his store when I make it to the big island again. He had A TON of goodies!

On 2011-05-19 16:21, croe67 wrote:
I found the same Polystone Ki'i figure this week in a Thrift Store & came looking for info on him. They are nicely done with good detail.
It looks like not a lot is known about the Polystone figures - this one & a Menehune I found in other posts.

Hey Creo67! I couldn't find any information either, but I'll be there's more out there! I agree, the Ki'i figure is really well done and the texture is awesome. Mine came from the big island, and it would be interesting to find out if they were a tourist souvenir only from the big island. Hope all is well!

Here are a few more...:)

I think they were made in Kaneohe, Oahu....

Great stuff freddie! Thanks for posting more finds! That second one is a real interesting design with his big feet and droopy mouth - almost frog like! I'm liking these different polystone designs.

I find plenty of coco joes stuff, but finding polystone stuff is sort of a rarity for me..

they say "polystone inc 1961 Hawaii"

broken base says "1" and the other is "5"

Good $5.00 purchase..

On 2008-04-17 12:35, Polynesiac wrote:
I picked up a really neat tiki while over in Hawaii made by a company called polystone inc. Does anyone have any information about this company?

The figure is called "Ki'i":

On the bottom of the tiki it says "Polystone Inc.", the number "9" in a box, the date "1961", then finally it says "Hawaii".

I'm assuming these were tourist trinkets, and House of Ku posted another version of Ki'i (#4) in this thread:

Lava Figures ~ NOT Coco Joes or HIP

Ask Buzzy. He knows almost everything about HIP, Coco Joes & Polystone. Wish he'd do a book!

anyone else have any other versions? or information about the company?

thanks!

I know pretty much zilch about Polystone...

These are the ones I have acquired so far:

#1 #3 #8 #9 #9 unnumbered c1962

This one hasn't been posted yet. She's dated 1962, and not numbered:

Her hair is glued on lava sand

The Menehune is #1

I have one or two more of these, but I think they are from another maker.

The orangish tiki is #3 and the smaller version round head tiki is #8

Large one is #9

On 2014-05-13 16:51, ErichTroudt wrote:
they say "polystone inc 1961 Hawaii"

broken base says "1" and the other is "5"

Any chance that might be a "7".

If so: We need pictures of: 2 4 6

There's for sure a King K head I've seen before, and another hula girl head with same face but different hair than the one I just posted

I think Freddie has a higher numbered piece. Like maybe #13?

Freddie, what you got?

Buzzy Out!

[ Edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2014-05-14 16:51 ]

Any chance that might be a "7".

No sir, Its a 1... one...I even got the magnifying glass out... I even asked the kid to look to double check the eye sight of the middle aged... lol

So what we've learned, if I'm reading this thread right, is that the menehune are marked #1.....

The statue I have is marked #1....

I stared at the pics and it seems The statue you have marked #3 is very similar to my #1, but with tiny differences... the eyes, the hands and the head carving down the sides.

Am I imagining things?

I know coco joes earlier vs later statues have subtle differences, but most of the time they have the same number or have no number....

Erich

and yes, buzzy should do a coco joes book...

On 2014-05-14 17:13, ErichTroudt wrote:

I stared at the pics and it seems The statue you have marked #3 is very similar to my #1, but with tiny differences... the eyes, the hands and the head carving down the sides.

and yes, buzzy should do a coco joes book...

I would say that your #1 is a stylized reinterpretation of #3. It has more exaggerated and cartoony features, almost like a caricature of the original source.

The tiki that is polystone #3, was made by at least 4 companies that I know of:

South Sea Sales, Holo Ka Hana, Polystone, and Big Island sands. The way I tell them apart is by the belly. One is rounded at the bottom, and the other is tapered. Polystone is the same as South sea sales, and Big Island sands matches the Holo Ka Hana one.

Big Island sands did it in every sand type they could find:

I'll co write a book about Coco Joes someday, hopefully with House of Ku and AquaRJ... They got a lot of stuff I don't have. They just don't show it off as often as I do. :wink: Between the 3 of us, we could probably cover a lot of ground.
Several years ago I was blown away by the lava pieces chapter in Tiki Quest. Now I'm like, yeah, got all those...

Buzzy Out!

I "borrowed" these images from an ebay auction.... Polystone lighter

On 2014-05-15 15:24, ErichTroudt wrote:
Polystone lighter

Which bears a striking resemblance to this HIP lighter:

Who ripped off whom? It's like the tiki version of the chicken or the egg riddle...

Buzzy Out!

Found this guy today. Who knows how many hands it's gone through before i found it but at least we know it was in Tonga at some point in 1972.