Lot 23
Possibly NIVIAQSI (NIVIAKSIAK) (1908-1959) m., KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Waving Boy, mid-late 1950s
stone, 4.75 x 4.75 x 1.5 in (12.1 x 12.1 x 3.8 cm)
unsigned.
ESTIMATE: $1,200 — $1,800
PRICE REALIZED: $1080
Provenance
An American Private Collection;
A Montreal Collection.
In its own way this small sculpture is as intriguing and engaging as Niviaqsi's Standing Hunter (Lot 23). We wonder if this boy is not simply waving, but trying to catch our attention and tell us something. The carving's sculptural forms are crisp and simplified, and quite exquisitely rendered.
Reference: For a Bust of a Man with a similar sensibility by Niviaqsi see Walker's Auctions, May 2016, Lot 72. See also Cynthia Waye Cook, Inuit Sculpture in the Collection of the Art Gallery of York University (North York: AGYU, 1988) cat. 6.