While many of his contemporaries returned repeatedly to the figure of Sedna, often presenting the sea goddess as an ideal of feminine beauty, Osuitok carved comparatively few representations of her, despite his well documented fascination with the female figure.

One of his finest efforts on the subject, of course, is the swimming Sea Goddess of 1983, carved in pale green stone and reproduced on the cover of Alma Houston's Inuit Art: An Anthology (1988). We are honoured to offer a rare addition to this aspect of Osuitok's sculptural canon in the present Contented Sedna with Plaited Hair, which offers a rare companion to that celebrated sculpture and was almost certainly carved around the same period.

Whereas the earlier Sea Goddess stretches horizontally through the water, the present Sedna rises upright, poised and serene. Her face tilts slightly upward, drawing our attention to her delicate almond shaped eyes and small, gently projecting nose. Most affecting, however, is her mouth, where the faintly raised corners suggest an almost Mona Lisa like smile. It is an exceedingly subtle expression, sensed more than stated, lending her an air of contentment and self possession.

From this delicate face, Osuitok draws the body downward in a series of long, supple curves. The narrow neck opens into the rounded shoulders and full torso, while the arms descend in long, attenuated curves to rest against her waist. Her hands meet at the front of the body, their slender fingers carefully articulated against the broad sweep of the waist. The effect is one of extraordinary repose, her body held in a state of perfect stillness without ever becoming rigid.

Viewed from the rear, two extraordinary braids descend from her head, their slender curves echoed by the great tail that rises behind her. These opposing lines give the sculpture a delicate equilibrium, creating a beautiful counterpoint of arcs, enclosing the body without confining it. The tail is at once support and ornament, curling outward from the body before turning upward into a broad, finely carved fin, providing both the sculpture's base and its final flourish.

The carving is otherwise spare, with the body left largely unbroken so that its broad planes can be read through the polish of the stone. Light slips across the smooth surface, catching the shifting greens and pale veins that course through the material. The stone itself becomes part of the figure, its mottled markings passing across the body like submerged currents.

The total result is a sculpture of extraordinary poise. Osuitok has long been celebrated for his mastery of balance and there is something deeply composed in this Sedna's bearing. Not simply in the physical sense, though every form seems to settle precisely into place here, it is Osuitok's balance of design, gesture and expression that gives the sea goddess her extraordinary presence. She seems entirely at home within the fluid geometry of her own body, a goddess perfectly at the helm of her domain.

ND