One could be forgiven for thinking that this delightful antler sculpture was carved by Luke Anowtalik, known for his frequent use of antler. However, the work is by his mother-in-law Elizabeth Nutaraaluk. She is famous for her stone sculptures (see Lots 69 and 172), however one of her earliest documented works is an antler carving of a kayaker hunting a caribou from 1966 (see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, 1972/92, fig. 604), and she is also known to have carved whale bone. The highly distinctive facial features that the artist imparted to her stone sculptures is evident here in the kayaker’s profile.

References: For an antler carving of a kayaker hunting a caribou by Nutaraaluk from 1966 see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 604, p. 208, and Eskimo Point/Arviat, cat. 51. See also cat. 50 Owl in Flight from 1969 in that catalogue.