In our auction of December 4, 2023 (Lot 82), First Arts offered an unusual and rare sculpture by the great John Pangnark, Figure Holding an Implement from c. 1972. We noted that figures by Pangnark with any sort of attachment are extremely rare, and that the only other example that came to mind was Figure with Amulet, exhibited in the 1985 Winnipeg Art Gallery show Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art. Little did we know that we would be offering that very masterpiece in a future sale.

The stone figure, by itself, is one of Pangnark’s most sublimely beautiful creations. In terms of its purity of line and the subtlety of its volumes and planes, it ranks with only a handful of his other great works; it brings to mind the marvelous Figure c. 1973-74 which graced the cover of the 1 Dec. 2020 First Arts catalogue (Lot 88). Where that sculpture reveled in the interplay of curved and hard-edged planes, Figure with Amulet takes form as if created by the soft strokes of a brush. Its gentle, elegant curves are achingly beautiful; the figure’s human shape is hinted at with delicate notches. And the face, the serene and lovely face… we are speechless.

In the Uumajut catalogue, Figure with Amulet was placed in the section titled “Uumajut: Sign of Spiritual Power.” In the 1979 WAG exhibition catalogue The Coming and Going of the Shaman, curator Jean Blodgett explains that amulets could be worn by anyone, and might be worn to ward off evil forces, bring luck, and to give a person special strengths and abilities (p. 203). Although the amulet here superficially resembles the head of a fish, we think there’s a good chance that it represents a bear’s head. If the former, it would be a good luck charm bringing abundance; if the latter, it would bring strength and protection. We have no way of knowing if Pangnark carved the amulet himself or if it was one that had been given to him. Either way, the amulet adds spiritual power to a work of art that already has achieved aesthetic perfection.

References: For various important works by Pangnark see Mother and Child from 1973 in Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1998), pl. 58, p. 79; Mother and Child from 1973/74 in Galerie Lippel, Inuit Sculpture 1974 (Montreal: Galerie Lippel, 1974), p. 6; First Arts Auction, December 2020, Lot 88 and cover; First Arts, 13 July 2021, Lot 32; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, November 2017, Lot 93; Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, pl. 103, p. 126, also illustrated in Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), pp. xvi and 121. See also Sandra Dyck and Ingo Hessel, Sanattiaqsimajut: Inuit Art from the Carleton University Art Gallery Collection, (Ottawa: CUAG, 2009), title page and p. 65. For a selection of important works by the artist see the section on Pangnark in Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit, (Regina: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986), pp. 74-85. For additional works by the artist see Bernadette Driscoll, Eskimo Point/Arviat, (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1982), cats. 59-72.