In the late 1960s and early 1970s, carvers in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) began making bird sculptures from caribou antler. Lacking coastal stone, they turned to this plentiful, lightweight material, whose texture and shape suited bird forms made with basic hand tools.

While most “Baker Birds” take the form of single birds on simple bases, the artists occasionally assembled small flocks or pairs, as in the charming present group. Sadly, many of these sculptures were either unsigned or signed in pencil, and over time those signatures have often faded or disappeared. Many leading Qamani’tuaq sculptors, including Assivaryuk, Ikkuti, Iksiktaaryuk, Kingilik, Mamnguqsualik, and Singaqti, produced antler birds, but we wonder whether this quartet may be by Johnny Kahagrenik, whose birds are just a tad more stylish than the rest of the flock.

MBL

References: For a photo of the artist holding one such bird, See Baker Lake Residents’ Association, Mary McCulloch, ed., Baker Lake, N.W.T., 1870–1970, (Baker Lake, N.W.T.: Baker Lake Residents’ Association, 1971), p. 152.