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Artworks
MATHEW AQIGAAQ (1940-2010) QAMANI'TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)
Muskox, 1981stone, 7 x 11.25 x 4.75 in (17.8 x 28.6 x 12.1 cm)
signed and dated, "ᐊᑭᒐ / 1981".LOT 14
ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500
PRICE REALIZED: $2,880.00Further images
In addition to caribou, the Kivallirmiut hailing from the Kazan River area relied on the muskox as a vital resource for food and clothing. Undoubtedly inspired by his reverence for...In addition to caribou, the Kivallirmiut hailing from the Kazan River area relied on the muskox as a vital resource for food and clothing. Undoubtedly inspired by his reverence for this important animal, Aqigaaq acknowledged the significance of the muskox by carving portrayals throughout his career. The rounded, pillowy volumes of this work convey the expressive essence of Mathew Aqigaaq’s style. Aqigaaq’s muskox is not shaggy, but rather wears its coat like a soft blanket. The animal stands immutably still, with its head slightly cocked, perhaps alerted to a noise of an unseen predator in the distance.
References: For a very similar work in the National Gallery of Canada collection see Christine Lalonde, Sanaugavut: Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2010), cat. 27, p. 64. For two quite similar, contemporaneous examples see Mathew Aqigaaq: Recent Sculpture, (London, U.K.: Theo Waddington, 1979), unpaginated.Provenance
Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, San Francisco, 1986.