Tiki mug

[4] A little-known antecedent (and the possible inspiration) of these earliest US tiki mugs and other later US tiki-motif tableware, is a range of mid-century modern ceramic ware from New Zealand, made by Crown Lynn.

[9] Those in the shape of Easter Island statues (moai) are among the most common, fueled in large part by the popularity of Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition and 1957 Aku-Aku novel.

[10] Steven Crane is largely credited with making "real tiki" carvings a major design theme in south seas inspired restaurants.

Asian themed mugs grew in popularity as well, depicting monikers for drinks such as the Karate Punch or Sumo Flip.

Some mugs also became eponymous with the drinks they were served with and vice versa (examples including the Suffering Bastard, scorpion bowl, and Fu Manchu).

[17] Vintage mugs, whether made by a professional manufacturer or by hobbyists, were once found in abundance on the shelves of junk shops in the 1980s and 1990s but became a sought-after item for those who were responsible for the revival of interest from tiki's heyday.

[18] Such historical mugs were first systemically catalogued in 2003 by Duke Carter in a self-published book that was considered important to the renaissance of tiki culture.

[citation needed] Though hobbyists and ceramic artists, in a small capacity, have continued to make these mugs at home, larger manufacturers have mass-produced restaurant and bar promotional souvenirs.

Mugs depicting actual people or characters such as Don Ho,[34] Jeff "Beachbum" Berry,[35] Margaret Thatcher,[36] Sven Kirsten,[37] Donn the Beachcomber,[38] and Magnum P.I.

[40][41][42] In a similar fashion, Tiki's link to Atomic cocktails and drinks such as the Test Pilot, Astronaut and Space Needle eventually led to mugs in the shape of rocket ships and early science fiction robots with names such as "Tron the Beachcomber".