Lot 33
ENNUTSIAK (1896-1967)
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Collection, Ganonoque, ON
Literature:
Brousseau, Raymond. Inuit: When Words Take Shape. Musée D'histoire Naturelle de Lyon, 2002, page 26
Note:
"When it was the right time of year to build kayaks, the young women had to chew the seal skins to make them supple. We also learned to sew and help the older woman. I remember seeing women sitting outside, sewing skins to cover kayaks. In our culture, women were always supposed to have something to do. That's what young women were taught when they started to learn how to work." - Susie Aupaluk Kauki, 1997.
Ennustiak is known for his “living pictures”, his carefully posed tableau scenes depicting traditional Inuit life. He favoured women’s scenes, most notable are his birthing scenes.
This piece however, is not something that we have seen from him before. The two pairs are likely mother and daughter, with the younger wearing her hair loose and tied back, and the mothers donning traditional up does. The four women, wielding ivory awls, are preparing walrus skin to be fitted over the kayak frame to their sides.