We’ve long wondered why sculptures of muskoxen are so prevalent in both Cape Dorset and Iqaluit, particularly as the muskox has not been native to Baffin Island for some time. Did Inuit hunters encounter muskoxen during extended hunting voyages, or had the animal attained mythological properties in oral histories?

Perhaps the most prolific and best-known purveyors of the muskox in sculpted form were members of the Ipellie family: Nuveeya (1920-2010); his son Seepee (1940-2000); and his grandson Jomie (1963-2020). The patriarch of the Ipellie clan was none other than Ennutsiak who migrated to Baffin Island from Nunavik as a young man. However, while there is now a muskox herd in Nunavik, this was only the result of a reintroduction programme which began around 1967, the year of Ennutsiak’s death. Regardless of where the artist got the inspiration to carve this absolutely charming ovibos moschatus, could this sculpture potentially be the piece that kicked off a family industry which lasted for generations? Curiously, despite the abundance of muskoxen carved by his progeny, we cannot recall ever having seen another by great-grandfather Ennutsiak!