While at first glance we might simply see the familiar form of a hunter patiently poised at a seal hole, upon closer inspection we notice that this charming fellow is a sterling example of the experimentation with inlay and pigmentation common in Nunavik art in the first half of the 1950s. Sculptors employed various contrasting materials including walrus ivory, caribou antler, or —as is the case with this piece — limestone. While inset ivory faces sometimes featured scrimshawed facial characteristics (generally tattoos), the much rarer limestone faces were often richly decorated with penciled hairlines, eyebrows, and mustaches. In this delightful work, while Qamugaaluk has carved the stone sculpture in a highly stylized manner, we sense that the face is sufficiently detailed as to be considered portraiture.

References: For a very similar work in the National Gallery of Canada see Christine Lalonde, Sanaugavut: Art from Kinngait, (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2010), cat. 9, Hunter, c. 1955, Access. No. 39266.