Mai-Kai Rum Barrell Historical Variant Mai Kai Hukilau Tiki Mug Polynesian Pop

Description

This ceramic tiki mug from the Mai-Kai in Ft Lauderdale is possibly the ugl
iest example of the popular Rum Barrel tiki mug you'll ever lay eyes upon but don't let that fool you. In actuality this might possibly be one of the most sought after tiki pieces in recent history. Let me explain as it was related to me by the owners; At some point during the late 60's early 70's the management of the now historic Polynesian themed restaurant attempted to place an order for more rum barrels through their distributor only to find that they were completely unavailable. So, knowing that their supply was too short to simply "wait it out", they sought out the next best thing and found a local manufacturer to supply the needed barrels. After molds were made from an existing mug the crafts-persons set out to produce the order only to find they'd made insufficient molds to complete it in time, so more were made from their own molded mugs and as you can imagine with a poorly made mold of a poorly made mold the detail became rather shoddy. They were hurriedly produced resulting in many of the mugs looking like they'd been made by rank amateurs. Subsequently many of the ugly barrels were destroyed over the years both intentionally and unintentionally. The Mai-Kai eventually managed to restore the quality of the popular design by returning to the original vendor and slowly rid all of them from their stock. At this point nobody really knows how many still exist and the few that do have truly become the stuff of legends akin to the holy grail, more often they have wound up in the hands of South Florida locals, simply due to relatives believing their grandparent's ugly mug is worthless. Once there they are never touched and never leave their collection. Exactly where this one has existed for nearly 20 years!
Mug will be shipped in generous amounts of packaging and insured to guarantee buyer satisfaction. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have and be sure to check out my other auctions for amazing tiki ephemera. Due to an impending move I will be auctioning quite a few one of a kind tiki items and limited edition collectables. Thanks for looking!