BERNADETTE IVALOOARJUK SAUMIK (1938-) RANKIN INLET (KANGIQLINIQ)
dated to the accompanying igloo tag;
signed and inscribed, "ᐃᕙᓗᐊᔨᔪ / ᓇᐅᔭ (Naujaat).
ESTIMATE: $400 — $600
Further images
Bernadette Ivalooarjuk Saumik is best known for her work in stone, but she also carved ivory with remarkable sensitivity and control. In Totemic Composition with Inuit and Owls on Seal Base, she creates a dense arrangement of interwoven figures, Inuit and owls stacked and nestled into one another, their limbs and bodies merging in ways that blur the boundaries between forms. What might initially seem like a chaotic tangle resolves, on closer look, into something deeply harmonious. The softened contours and flowing edges allow the composition to function as a unified whole. Small drilled holes, touched with black pigment to suggest eyes and nostrils, anchor the viewer’s gaze and lend clarity to the sculptural rhythm.
Provenance
Northern Images, Yellowknife, NWT;Acquired from the above by a Private Collection, 7 July 1986;
Estate of the above;
First Arts, May 2025;
Acquired from the above by the Present Private Collection.
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