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Artworks
ENNUTSIAK (1893-1967) IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)
Seal Hunters, c. 1960-62stone, sinew, and ivory, 4 x 10 x 5.25 in ( 10.2 x 25.4 x 13.3 cm)
inscribed with artist’s disc number, "ᐊᐱᓕ / ᐃᓄᓯᐊ / E7 - 603".
LOT 24
ESTIMATE: $5,000 — $8,000Further images
While he occasionally carved singular figures, Ennutsiak’s work is most often defined by pairs (see lot 25) or groups, reflecting the deeply communal nature of Inuit life. His sculptures capture...While he occasionally carved singular figures, Ennutsiak’s work is most often defined by pairs (see lot 25) or groups, reflecting the deeply communal nature of Inuit life. His sculptures capture moments of shared experience: women preparing food, families interacting, and, as in the present work, hunters collaborating. This emphasis on collective experiences distinguishes his work, lending it both a documentary quality and while simultaneously reflecting the critical role hunting played in traditional Inuit life.
As with the best of his oeuvre, Seal Hunters is dynamic in composition and carefully structured to convey movement and narrative. The figures are rendered with naturalistic precision, from the detailing of their clothing to their facial expressions and postures. The two hunters in the foreground lean into their labour, pulling on a taut sinew line that connects them to the seal. This diagonal tension anchors the composition, emphasizing both effort and motion. A third figure stands poised with knives in hand, ready to begin flensing once the others have finished their task, an understated but effective moment of storytelling that reinforces the collaborative essence of the scene.
References: For other works by the artist see Maria von Finckenstein ed., Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970, (Gatineau: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1999) pp. 131-133 as well as Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2006), cat. 146, pp. 172-173.
Provenance
Private Collection, Ottawa, purchased from the artist in the early-mid 1960s.
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