JOSIAH NUILAALIK (1928-2005) QAMANI'TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)
signed, "ᓄᐃᓚᓕ".
ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500
Further images
In this work, Josiah Nuilaalik takes the familiar form of a seal and alters it with the addition of a distinctly human face. The body remains long, low, and convincingly animal, its smooth curve carrying the eye from head to tail. Against that sleek form, the mask-like face feels startlingly still, with inset eyes and compressed features that shift the creature into another realm of being. Human and animal qualities are fused rather than merely combined, giving the sculpture a sense of transformation that is central to much Inuit spirit imagery. Spare in detail but strong in silhouette and expression, the work shows Nuilaalik at his most inventive with supernatural subjects.
Provenance
Collection of John & Joyce Price, Seattle, WA.Join Our Mailing List
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