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    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET), Muskox, c. 1965
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET), Muskox, c. 1965
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET), Muskox, c. 1965
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET), Muskox, c. 1965
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET), Muskox, c. 1965

    PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

    Muskox, c. 1965
    stone, 7 x 9.25 x 3.75 in (17.8 x 23.5 x 9.5 cm)
    unsigned.
    LOT 99
    ESTIMATE: $5,000 — $8,000
    PRICE REALIZED: $14,640.00

    Further images

    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) HISTORIC PERIOD INUIT ARTIST, EASTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC, Whistle, 1935 or earlier
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) HISTORIC PERIOD INUIT ARTIST, EASTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC, Whistle, 1935 or earlier
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) HISTORIC PERIOD INUIT ARTIST, EASTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC, Whistle, 1935 or earlier
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) HISTORIC PERIOD INUIT ARTIST, EASTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC, Whistle, 1935 or earlier
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 5 ) HISTORIC PERIOD INUIT ARTIST, EASTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC, Whistle, 1935 or earlier
    • Muskox
    Although there are no records of muskoxen having inhabited Baffin Island during historical times, Kinngait artists such as Kananginak and Pudlo depicted these fascinating animals with some regularity, and even...
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    Although there are no records of muskoxen having inhabited Baffin Island during historical times, Kinngait artists such as Kananginak and Pudlo depicted these fascinating animals with some regularity, and even Osuitok Ipeelee did so occasionally. Pauta Saila carved them only rarely yet Muskox, a superb example from 1962, remains among his greatest masterpieces (see First Arts, 5 Dec. 2022, Lot 19). [1]


    This endearing Muskox is Pauta’s reprise of that famous work and dates from perhaps two or three years later. Slightly smaller and carved from a somewhat different stone, it has a similar though not identical pose. With its raised head, dainty hooves, and overall compact form, it might almost be a young animal trying to emulate its older and larger parent. (We see the same thing with some of Pauta’s bears, which look distinctly cub-like.) Muskox is a delightful and charming addition to the artist’s oeuvre.


    1. This important sculpture, formerly in the Terry Ryan Collection, has been widely exhibited and published, including in Sculpture/Inuit, (cat. 142) and Swinton, (1972/92), fig. 467.
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    Provenance

    Private Collection, Ottawa;
    by descent in the family.
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FIRST ARTS PREMIERS INC.  
Nadine Di Monte   |    647-286-5012   |    info@firstarts.ca 

Ingo Hessel  |    613-818-2100   |    ingo@firstarts.ca

The main office of First Arts Premiers Inc. is located on the ancestral and traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat, the original owners and custodians of this land.  Today, it is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

 

 

 

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