Additional Images

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A lovely early work that is sure to spark a debate among Inuit art experts and collectors. As always, we endeavor to provide you with all of the evidence, where a conclusive identification cannot be made. We urge you to appreciate the wonder of the early days of collecting, when pieces were not signed, documented and regulated, and often found their way into their new custodian’s hands by virtue of being in the right place at the right time.

This lovely woman in amautiq is inscribed with what appears to be a disc number, E9-713 which is associated with Akeeaktashuk from Inukjuak (Port Harrison). However, it does not bear any resemblance or characteristics of Akeeaktashuk’s work. The elderly owner of the carving recalls that the sculpture was traded for a knife and a shirt by her father in 1947 while he was working as a carpenter in Port Harrison. There is a faded letter that accompanies the work from her father to her mother that supports this story. Based on the appearance of the sculpture, it is characteristic of Cape Dorset (Kingait), from the stone used to the style and detailing on the amautiq.