South Pacific Tiki Totem Pole Table Lamp

MONUMENTAL BAMBOO & WALNUT POLYNESIAN STYLE TABLE LAMP In the Manner of McGuire & Wakefield Circa 1947-1950 At the very beginning of the Post-War Polynesian or South Pacific craze which took over America during the late forties and fifties, there were precious few importers of fine bamboo furnishings. John & Elinore McGuire set up shop in California to do just that and their works are legendary for quality and durabiity. The time required to cut, soak, bend and shape bamboo into permanently sculpted forms was substantial and the exotic material was only available in quantity in the South Pacific. This lamp is an extremely rare, early example of a Bamboo lamp done in Polynesian (later Tiki) style. You seldom see any of these lamps, because they were very scarce new and even fewer have survived the past 70 years since their manufacture. It was likely created & imported in very small numbers around 1950 and sold through an early importer such as McGuire. Many bamboo importers were direct-to-decorator importers who advertised in Interiors or House & Garden magazine. The shape is based on the style of bamboo work used to create thatched huts and housing in the South Pacific islands - bamboo, cut, soaked and shaped and then tied with cane binding. This one has a double stacked oversized walnut base to provided stability to this enormous lamp...

A whimsical, kitschy 1950s hula dancer lamp holding a basket of faux flowers. Constructed of rope, grass and wood. Hand painted. Complete and working.