Inuit & First Nations Art Auction | May 24 - 29, 2024

Inuit & First Nations Art

MAY 24 - 29, 2024

bid and view all lots online at www.waddingtons.ca

auction ends

Wednesday, May 29 starts to close at 7 pm ET

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Thursday, May 23 from 10 am to 5 pm

Friday, May 24 from 10 am to 5 pm

Saturday, May 25 from 12 pm to 4 pm

Sunday, May 26 from 12 pm to 4 pm

Monday, May 27 from 10 am to 5 pm

Tuesday, May 28 from 10 am to 5 pm

Or by appointment

preview held at

275 King Street East, 2nd Floor Toronto, Ontario M5A 1K2

inuit art inuitart@waddingtons.ca

senior specialist

Palmer Jarvis 416-847-6191

consignment coordinator

Elizabeth Gagnon 416-847-6184

president, senior specialist

Duncan McLean

front cover

Various Lots

front inside cover

Lot 182

Davidee Mannumi

Transforming Spirit, ca. 1961 (detail)

opposite Lot 110

Jessie Oonark Untitled (Woman), 1972-1975

back inside cover

Lot 112

Unidentified Tlingit Artist

Standing Male Figure, ca. 1875

back cover

Lot 175

Beau Dick

Pook-Mis Mask (Spirit of the Nearly Drowned), 1989

“We do not own these sculptures as much as we act as their custodians,” says Duncan McLean, Waddington’s president and senior specialist of Inuit Art. When assembling our major spring auction of Inuit and First Nations Art, it became apparent to McLean and Palmer Jarvis, senior specialist, that several of the pieces had originally been sold by Waddington’s decades earlier and were now returning to our auction block. Several had been outside of Canada for over 45 years, and have returned home, ready to enter the collections of a new generation who will take their own turn at caring for these masterworks.

McLean, who has been involved in Waddington’s Inuit auctions since the landmark 1978 sale of the William Eccles Collection, sees the return of these sculptures akin to renewing an acquaintance with an old friend. When the Eccles auction took place, collectors of Inuit art were few and far between, a small group of dedicated insiders. Today, the audience is broad and increasingly more international – no longer can this artform be considered an insider’s secret.

Several of the sculptures in this auction come to us from an important collection in Virginia. The pieces were carefully chosen, bought from sources including Waddington’s over a period of 19 years, primarily from 1979-1998. Jarvis says of the collection, “the breadth and quality of works chosen is really quite notable. In a period when international interest in Inuit art was in its early stages, they put together a collection, not just of works by important artists, but also really superlative examples.”

Waddington’s is pleased to again present a selection of exceptional Inuit and First Nations art. Important artworks include sculpture and graphics by Karoo Ashevak, Jessie Oonark, Kiakshuk, John Pangnark, Pauta Saila, Aisa Qupirualu Alasua, Parr, Osuitok Ipeelee, Kiugak Ashoona, Joe Talirunili, John Kavik, Kenojuak Ashevak, Johnny Inukpuk, Thomas Ugjuk, Ennutsiak, Davidialuk Alasua Amittu, Beau Dick, Charlie James, David Ruben Piqtoukun, Abraham Apakark Anghik, Manasie Akpaliapik, Judas Ullulaq, Barnabus Arnasungaaq, and John Tiktak.

We have enjoyed bringing this auction together. A sincere thank you to our consignors and bidders for your continued support.

Lot 161

Osuitok Ipeelee

Rearing Caribou, ca. 1995 (detail)

100

LATCHOLASSIE AKESUK

ᓚᓴᓚᓯ ᐊᑲᓴ (1919-2000), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

SEAL, CA. 1975 stone; unsigned

5 x 13.75 x 2.25 in — 12.7 x 34.9 x 5.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$400 — 600

VIEW LOT

101

ATTRIBUTED TO JOHNNIEBO ASHEVAK

ᔭᓂᕗ ᐊᓴᕙ (1923-1972), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

SLINKING DOG, CA. 1960

stone; signed in syllabics “ᔭᓂ”

4.25 x 12.5 x 3 in — 10.8 x 31.8 x 7.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$400 — 600

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

102

UNIDENTIFIED

ARTIST, INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

WOMAN WITH KAKINIIT (TATTOOS), CA. 1955

stone, soap inlay; unsigned; old collector’s inventory label on underside reads “2”

3.5 x 4 x 2.75 in — 8.9 x 10.2 x 7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of Harold Pfeiffer, Ottawa, ON

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 16 Nov 1998, lot 217

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

$1,000 — 2,000

The work of an unidentified early Inukjuak (Port Harrison) sculptor, Woman with Kakiniit (Tattoos) is characterized by the artist’s rendering of the figure’s apparently joyous expression, finely incised Kakiniit, and the sculpture’s exquisitely polished surface.

The sculpture was collected by artist Harold Pfeiffer, and was previously offered at Waddington’s in 1998 as part of the estate of the collector. Harold Pfeiffer studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Quebec City from 1925-27. Pfeiffer then travelled to London and Paris in the early 1930s to further his artistic development at notable galleries including the British Museum, The Victoria and Albert, the Tate Gallery and the Louvre.1

During the early 1950s, Pfeiffer’s friends James and Alma Houston suggested that he join the federal department of Northern Affairs to work with tuberculosis patients in hospitals and rehabilitation centres in the Arctic. Pfeiffer would work with many of the important artists who were treated at the hospital, most notably Kenojuak Ashevak.

Over his lifetime, Pfeiffer sculpted many portraits of Inuit sitters with whom he was well acquainted. Some of Pfeiffer’s most exceptional portraits were of fellow artists.

Ninety-one portraits by Pfeiffer of Inuit and First Nations subjects are held in two major collections, Glenbow Museum in Calgary, and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife. His work is also held in a number of other public collections, including the Itsanitaq Museum in Churchill, Manitoba, le Musée d’art in Joliette, Quebec, the RCMP Museum in Regina, Saskatchewan and the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.

The Man Who Makes Heads with His Hands: The Art and Life of Harold Pfeiffer, Sculptor, was published just after his death in 1997.

1 John A. Stevens and Harold Pfeiffer, The Man Who Makes Heads with His Hands: The Art and Life of Harold Pfeiffer, Sculptor (Ontario: General Store Publishing House, 1997), 11, 17.

2 Waddington’s Auctioneers, Important Sale by Auction (Toronto: Island Communications, 1998), 3.

VIEW LOT

103

PAULUSIKOTAK ALAKU ᐊᓚᑯ (1923-1971), SALLUIT (SUGLUK)

ELVIS, CA. 1963

stone; unsigned; disc number inscribed

5 x 5 x 3.5 in — 12.7 x 12.7 x 8.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke

By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

LITERATURE:

Elizabeth McLuhan and Tom Hill, Norval Morrisseau and the Emergence of the Image Makers (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1984), 19, pl. 4.

Michael Neill and Ted Fraser, Sugluk: Sculpture in Stone (Ontario: Art Gallery of Windsor, 1992), 45.

$2,000 — 3,000

In 1971 Paulusikotak Alaku disappeared along with brother Adami and cousin Quanak on a hunting excursion by canoe in the mouth of Salluit (Sugluk) Inlet. Important community leaders with large families, the three men were searched for extensively, but never found.1 Paulusi was a respected figure in Salluit who served on community councils from the beginning of local government, and later on the board of directors of the cooperative. He was also a talented artist.

The narrative content of early sculpture at Salluit was subject to restrictions imposed by the manager of the Hudson’s Bay store, as well as the proselytising efforts of missionaries. Artworks that did not meet the standards of managers were sometimes destroyed. Elvis narrowly escaped destruction in 1963 when it was saved by a public servant in Salluit, Archibald Frederick Flucke.2 The image of the rock and roll artist, translated in stone by Paulusi, flew in the face of the idealized and narrow depictions of historic life in Salluit that were typically selected to be sent south by the Hudson’s Bay store in the 1950 and 60s. Sculpted from stone atypical for Salluit, the exotic material for Elvis was likely imported to Salluit, and contributes to an appearance nearly unique to sculpture from the region.

Many works by Paulusi never reached outlets in the south, as his sculpture was often snapped up by visitors and local residents alike, who were intrigued by the artist’s skill and charismatic personality.. 3 The present work is published both in the 1984 book Norval Morrisseau and the Emergence of the Image Makers as well as in Sugluk: Sculpture in Stone in 1992. The sculpture is accompanied by an original letter from the publisher of the latter, enquiring after the inclusion of the sculpture in the seminal text.

1 A. Barry Roberts, The Inuit Artists of Sugluk, P.Q (Quebec: La Federation des Co-operatives du Nouveau Quebec, 1976), 23.

2 Elizabeth McLuhan and Tom Hill, Norval Morrisseau and the Emergence of the Image Makers (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1984), 19, pl. 4.

3 Roberts, The Inuit Artists of Sugluk, P.Q., 25

104

LAISA QAYUARYUK ᓕᓯ (1935-2008), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

WOMAN BURDENED WITH SEAL, CA. 1970 stone; unsigned; old inventory sticker verso inscribed: “Liza...”

14.5 x 8 x 6 in — 36.8 x 20.3 x 15.2 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Ontario

$1,500 — 2,500

VIEW LOT

105

JOE TALIRUNILI ᔪᐅ ᑕᓚᕈᓂᓕ (1893-1976), PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

WOMAN WITH CATCH, CA. 1965 stone; signed in Roman 6 x 3.25 x 1.75 in — 15.2 x 8.3 x 4.4 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON $4,000 — 6,000

VIEW LOT

106

PITALOOSIE SAILA ᐱᑕᓗᓯ

, RCA (1942-2021), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

WOMAN AND SNOW BIRD II, 2005 etching and aquatint; titled, dated and numbered 47/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 31.5 x 23.75 in — 80 x 60.3 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Vermont, USA

$1,500 — 2,500 VIEW LOT

107

JESSIE OONARK ᔪᓯ ᐃᓇ, OC, RCA (1906-1985), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE) BIG WOMAN, 1974

stonecut and stencil; titled, dated and numbered 38/50; artist’s and printer’s name in Roman and syllabics

25 x 36.5 in — 63.5 x 92.7 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$3,000 — 5,000 VIEW LOT

108

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ ᐊᓯᕙ

CC, RCA (1927-2013), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

RESPLENDENT OWLS, 2005

stonecut and stencil; titled, dated and numbered 52/70; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 24.25 x 30 in — 61.6 x 76.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Vermont, USA

$3,000 — 4,000 VIEW LOT

109

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ ᐊᓯᕙ

CC, RCA (1927-2013), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

IQALUTSIAVAK (BEAUTIFUL FISH), 2005

stonecut and stencil; titled, dated and numbered 6/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 26.25 x 32 in — 66.7 x 81.3 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Vermont, USA

$2,000 — 3,000 VIEW LOT

JESSIE OONARK ᔪᓯ ᐃᓇ, OC, RCA (1906-1985), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

UNTITLED (WOMAN), 1972-1975

wool, felt, thread, embroidery floss; signed in syllabics verso 50 x 32 in — 127 x 81.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of Canadian Arctic Producers, Ottawa, ON Private Collection, Connecticut, USA

LITERATURE:

Art Gallery of Ontario, The People Within (Toronto: Yorkville Press, 1976), unpaged, pl. 53.

$30,000 — 40,000

An artist of exceptionally fertile imagination and seemingly boundless creative energy, Jessie Oonark produced a truly remarkable body of drawings, prints and nivingajuliat (wall hangings) over her long career.

A departure from conventions of square and rectangular presentation, the present remarkable nivingajuliat, Untitled (Woman in Amauti) is a striking example from a period of experimentation in the early to mid-1970s in which Oonark investigated a series of unconventional nivingajuliat profiles, including ulus, human figures, and snow beaters.1

Raised by her three-times windowed mother and close relatives, an observant young Oonark learned many traditional lifeways from elders that would inform her later imagery.2 As in the artist’s iconic print Woman from 1970, in Untitled (Woman in Amauti) Oonark has been meticulous in her translation of the three-dimensional amauti and its ritual designs into the two-dimensional imagery of the nivingajuliat.

It is notable that the abstraction and symmetry for which Oonark’s art is known is one of the defining characteristics of traditional amauti designs. In the present work Oonark has carried the amautiit compositional elements over into her portrayal of the young woman wearing it. Both figure and garment are near fully symmetrical, and united in the artist’s use of vibrant colour.

Figural profile nivingajuliat by Oonark are exceptionally uncommon. One known example was exhibited in the 1986 Winnipeg Art Gallery Jessie Oonark a Retrospective. A second, collected in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) in 1981 was sold at Waddington’s, June 9, 2022. Both known examples depict men whose faces are seen in side-profile. The present nivingajuliat is remarkable for its front profile depiction of a young woman.

Formerly in the collection of Canadian Arctic Producers, Untitled (Woman in Amauti) has not been seen publicly since it was displayed in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s exhibition The People Within, held in 1976.

1 Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard, Jessie Oonark: A Retrospective (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1986), 65.

2 Blodgett and Bouchard, Jessie Oonark, 8.

VIEW LOT

UNIDENTIFIED AINU ARTIST

ATTUSH CEREMONIAL ROBE AND SAPANPE FORMERLY BELONGING TO MANASIE AKPALIAPIK, CA. 1989

elmbark fiber, cotton, embroidery thread, indigo dye, wood, willow shavings; inscribed in hiragana on paper wrapping “ゆあつらえ” (custom made)

47.5 x 52.25 x 2 in — 120.7 x 132.7 x 5.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Acquired directly from Manasie Akpaliapik by the present Private Collection, Toronto, ON, ca. 1990

$2,000 — 4,000

Acquired from the sculptor Manasie Akpaliapik circa 1990 by an art dealer and friend of the artist, this Ainu attush ceremonial robe and sapanpe (ceremonial headdress) is reputed to have been gifted to Akpaliapik on behalf of the Ainu at the 1989 Ainu Cultural Society conference in Shraoi Hokaido, Japan during the artist’s attendance. Historically, Ainu robes were made for utilitarian use as well as ceremonial applications. Ceremonial Ainu robes are important objects of prestige and rarely worn. The present robe is accompanied by a sapanpe bearing a carved effigy of a bear head. The sapanpe is typically worn during Iomante (sending off the bear) ceremonies and other festivals, or to celebrate important guests.

HALI. "Anatomy of an object: Ainu attush robe." HALI. July 1, 2020. https://hali.com/news/anatomy-of-an-object-ainu-attush-robe/

VIEW LOT

112

UNIDENTIFIED TLINGIT ARTIST, SHEET’-KÁ X’ÁAT’L (BARANOF ISLAND)

STANDING MALE FIGURE, CA. 1875

wood, natural pigments; inscribed on base: “20738 / Sitka / Alaska / Swan”

15 x 5.25 x 5.25 in — 38.1 x 13.3 x 13.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

James Gilchrist Swan, Washington, USA, ca. 1875 acquired from the above by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20 Jan 1876

Deaccessioned to Baron L. Ambrozy, Vienna, 22 Jun 1905

Private Collection, Austria

EXHIBITED:

Centennial International Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA, 1876

$7,000 — 9,000

VIEW LOT

A number of male and female figures similar to dolls but exhibiting shamanistic characteristics were made by Tlingit in the 19th century. Contextual and stylistic elements of the figures suggest that they may have been the tools of Ixt’ (shaman), although some sources suggest they may have been dolls made to acquaint children with the appearance of Ixt’ so that they might be avoided. 1

The present sculpture is one of a suite of eight Tlingit figures exhibiting shamanitic imagery collected on and around Sheet’-ká X’áat’l (Baranof Island) by James Gilchrist Swan (1818-1900) in 1875. Swan’s acquisitions of that year were made on behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, for display the following year at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, and to revert to the collection of the Smithsonian upon the close of the exhibition.2 The present figure was deaccessioned in 1905 in an exchange with Baron L. Ambrozy of Vienna. The remaining seven figures continue to be held in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution.3

Of the figures remaining in the Smithsonian, one figure, accession number NMNH 20737, appears to be carved by the same hand as the present sculpture. Nearly identical in scale and closely related in design, it depicts a female counterpart to the present male figure. Notably NMNH 20737 is portrayed grasping a land otter, a mythological creature closely associated with the otherworldly power of the Ixt’.

Objects with shamanistic imagery were both the subject of taboo, as well as commercial enterprise in the 19th century on the Northwest Coast. The comparative brightness, lack of oxidation, and wear on the figures held in the Smithsonian suggest that the present example might have been manufactured at the time of Swan’s 1875 acquisition. Swan’s well-documented preference for newly-made goods often resulted in objects being commissioned in the communities in which he collected.4

1 Allen Wardwell, Tangible Visions: Northwest Coast Indian Shamanism and its Art (New York: Monacelli Press, 2009), 309.

2 Douglas Cole, Captured Heritage, The Scramble for Northwest Coast Artefacts (Washington: University of Washington Press, 1985), 21.

3 Smithsonian Institution, “Catalogue Numbers 20726-20750”, Vol. 5A (unpublished ledger), 37.

4 Cole, Captured Heritage, 32.

CHARLIE JAMES (YAKUGLAS) (1867-1938), KWAKWAKA’WAKW

MODEL TOTEM POLE, CA. 1915 wood, paint; unsigned

17.5 x 8.25 x 4 in — 44.5 x 21 x 10.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$1,500 — 2,500

VIEW LOT

114

UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA OR TLINGIT ARTIST

PAINTED AND CARVED PADDLE, CA. 1890

wood, paint

35 x 4.75 x .75 in — 88.9 x 12.1 x 1.9 cm

Provenance:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$2,500 — 3,500

115

UNIDENTIFIED TLINGIT ARTIST

SHAMAN’S AMULET WITH RAVEN AND DEVILFISH DESIGN, CA. 1865

bone; on custom display stand

8 x 1.25 x .25 in — 20.3 x 3.2 x 0.6 cm

Provenance:

Charles and Francis Reif Collection by repute

Seahawk Auctions, Burnaby, BC, 27 Oct 2008, lot 72

Private Collection, British Columbia

$3,000 — 4,000

The Tlingit Ixt’ (shaman) wore amulets either as individual pendants, as part of a group making up necklaces, or sewn to tunics or aprons. The vast majority of examples are pierced to accommodate attachment. The imagery on the present example punningly intermingles the form of a raven with a devilfish or octopus, a creature often associated with shamanastic activities. The form of this example is unusual in its explicit articulation of the head and eyes of the devilfish, whose presence is more typically implied by rows of tendrils punctuated with the creature’s many suckers.

UNIDENTIFIED MI’KMAQ ARTIST

QUILLED LIDDED BOX, CA. 1867

porcupine quills, dyes, wood, birch bark, spruce root; inscribed internally in pen and ink “Oct, 19th 1867 / Sept 1887”

4.5 x 8.5 x 6.75 in — 11.4 x 21.6 x 17.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$2,500 — 3,500

From the time of the earliest written accounts of the Mi’kmaq, their exceptional quillwork was noted.1 Made from perishable organic material, the earliest known Mi’kmaq use of quillwork is unknown, but by the turn of the 19th century it was a well-developed artform.

The box is inscribed on the inside of the lid in pen and ink with two dates, 1867 and 1887. It is probable that it is the first date which most closely coincides with the box’s date of manufacture, a fact testified to both by the exceptional fineness and uniformity of the quillwork typical of the earlier date, but also by the use of vivid dye. Strong black and brilliant blue colouration present in some of the quills is typical of dyes in use between 1860-1865.2

Motifs embellishing the box include a chevron design said to reference the fir-tree, a symbol of “venerable age and strength;” also present is a drawn apart X design, the so called V-insertion pattern which was documented in W.D. Wallis 1955 publication The Micmac Indians of Eastern Canada as possibly being associated with a Cape Breton Mi’kmaq band.3

1 Ruth Holmes Whitehead, Micmac Quillwork: Micmac Indian Techniques of Porcupine Quill Decoration: 1600-1950 (Halifax: The Nova Scotia Museum, 1982), 5.

2 Whitehead, Micmac Quillwork, unpaged section, pl. 18.

3 Ibid, 146, 147.

VIEW LOT

UNIDENTIFIED MI’KMAQ ARTIST

QUILLED LIDDED BOX, CA. 1900

porcupine quills, aniline dye, birch bark, wood, spruce root, sweet grass, nails

4.25 x 7.75 x 5.25 in — 10.8 x 19.7 x 13.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Crowther and Brayley Auctions, Halifax, NS

Private Collection, Halifax, NS

RELATED WORKS:

Canadian Museum of History, Cat. No. CMH III-F-79 a-b. https://www.historymuseum.ca/collections/artifact/33080

$900 — 1,200

PAULASSIE POOTOOGOOK ᐸᐅᓚᓯ

, RCA (1927-2006), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

QULLIQ AND TAQQUTI, CA. 1955

stone, ivory, antler, wood; signed and titled in syllabics; Albrecht Collection inventory number inscribed

8 x 10.5 x 5.5 in — 20.3 x 26.7 x 14 cm

PROVENANCE:

Dan and Martha Albrecht Collection

Private Estate, Ontario

$700 — 900

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

QUILLIQ, CA. 1965 stone; unsigned

3 x 14 x 6 in — 7.6 x 35.6 x 15.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$700 — 900 VIEW LOT

KIUGAK (KIAWAK) ASHOONA ᑭᐊᒐ, OC, RCA (1933-2014), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

SEA SPIRIT TRANSFORMATION, CA. 1965 stone; unsigned

4.25 x 11.75 x 1.5 in — 10.8 x 29.8 x 3.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$4,000 — 6,000 VIEW LOT

KIAKSHUK ᑭᐊᓱ (1886-1966), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

MOTHER WITH CHILD IN AMAUTI, CA. 1962 stone; unsigned; old inventory number inscribed on bottom right foot

7.25 x 3.5 x 3.25 in — 18.4 x 8.9 x 8.3 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Estate, Ontario

$2,500 — 3,500

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

122

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ ᐊᓯᕙ, CC, RCA (1927-2013), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

UNTITLED (WOMAN KNEELING), 1994/1995 coloured pencil and ink drawing; signed in syllabics; dated; embossed with the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative chop; inscribed verso: “DR080620 / CD040-2527-abd-94/95-16 - 51 x 53.7” sheet 20 x 21 in — 50.8 x 53.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC

Private Collection, Ontario

$3,000 — 4,000

One of two original drawings by Kenojuak in this auction, this example is notable for its relation to the artist’s famous 1960 stonecut, The Woman Who Lives in the Sun. Though this drawing was made over 30 years later, the bulbous rays which flank the central composition can be seen to be more refined and decorative versions of that earlier sun’s blaze.

In the Inuit cosmology, the sun is identified as female while the moon is male, in direct contrast to most other cultures’ reversed gender roles. Though narratives vary across the vast territory of the Arctic, the broad myth tells of two siblings, the moon-brother (Taqqiq) and his sun-sister (Siqniq). Taqqiq – either accidentally or on purpose – fondles or has sex with Siqniq. In retaliation, she lights a torch and chases him around the community to shame him. The moon, not to be outdone, chases her in return, and the two run so far that they end up in the sky to pursue each other for eternity.1

For the Inuit, the sun is largely absent for much of the year and is not relied on for agriculture or even wayfinding – an Arctic moon is a perfectly adequate substitute for hunters in deep winter. Yet the sun’s return after the long polar night is marked by special festivities and rituals, signifying the beginning of a new year and the return of easier hunting conditions. Lengthening days are cause for happiness and celebration in the Arctic, which might have prompted Kenojuak to draw this portrait of a woman kneeling in the sun.

1 Helga Goetz and William E. Taylor, The Inuit Print: a travelling exhibition of the National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada, and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (Ottawa: National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada, 1977), 58.

123

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ ᐊᓯᕙ, CC, RCA (1927-2013), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

UNTITLED (OWL), 2010

coloured pencil and graphite drawing; signed in syllabics; dated; embossed with the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative chop; inscribed verso: “DR110424 / CD040-3072abd-2010-03/11 - 65 x 50 CM / 18026 / June 18/10”

sheet 25.5 x 19.75 in — 64.8 x 50.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC

Private Collection, Ontario

$4,000 — 5,000

Owls never ceased to interest Kenojuak, from her earliest creations to those made at the end of her life. She used them as a subject for over 100 different prints as well as her original drawings, as on offer here. In return, they would define many of the pinnacles of her celebrated career, including her Enchanted Owl, which smashed market records for the artist’s work at auction when sold at Waddington’s in 2018 for $216,000.

Beginning in the early 1960s, Kenojuak introduced foliage and flowers to enhance her avian images and their often fantastically-hued plumage. In this drawing, Kenojuak’s owl is naturalistically coloured in brown, grey and yellow, while the buds which flank it burst forth into bright purple and red.

Notably, Kenojuak used coloured pencil instead of felt-tip marker in Untitled (Owl) which allowed her to create smooth panes of colour, echoing the pleasing flatness of many of her printed editions. Regarding her choice of colours, in 1980, Kenojuak told Jean Blodgett: “The colours are part of an informal system that I have. I select two colours that will go side by side, lining them up, saying that these two look good together. I use that system for my colouring and don’t change it halfway through the drawing.” 1

For the second original drawing by Kenojuak in this auction, please see lot 122, Untitled (Woman Kneeling), 1994/1995.

1 Inuit Art Foundation. "30 Ways to Describe an Owl." Inuit Art Foundation. August 4, 2020. https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iaq-online/30-ways-to-describe-an-owl-according-to-kenojuak-ashevak

VIEW LOT

124

IYOLA KINGWATSIAK ᑭᒍᐊᓯᐊ (1933-2000), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

CIRCLE OF BIRDS, 1966

stencil; titled, dated and numbered 23/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sight 16.25 x 21.75 in — 41.3 x 55.2 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Ontario

$800 — 1,200 VIEW LOT

125

PUDLO PUDLAT ᐳᓗ ᐳᓚ (1916-1992), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

CARIBOU IN WINTER LIGHT, 1986 stencil; titled, dated and numbered 9/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 25 x 30.5 in — 63.5 x 77.5 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Ontario

$2,000 — 3,000

VIEW LOT

126

PARR ᐸ (1893-1969), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

COMPOSITION WITH HUNTER AND ANIMALS, CA. 1965 graphite drawing; unsigned sheet 16.25 x 13.75 in — 41.3 x 34.9 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON $2,500 — 3,500

VIEW LOT

127

LUKE ANGUHADLUQ ᓗᐅᒃ ᐊᒐᓴᓗ (1895-1982), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

UNTITLED (DRUM DANCE AND FISH WEIR), 1972 coloured pencil drawing; signed in syllabics; disc number inscribed; inscribed in pencil verso “Anguhadluq / 300.00 / 25273 / 1972” sheet 21.75 x 29.75 in — 55.2 x 75.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Hamilton, ON $3,000 — 4,000 VIEW LOT

128

LUKE ANGUHADLUQ ᓗᐅᒃ ᐊᒐᓴᓗ (1895-1982), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

UNTITLED (MANY FIGURES), CA. 1975 graphite and coloured pencil drawing; signed in syllabics; disc number inscribed; inscribed in pencil verso “Anguhadluq” sheet 23 x 29 in — 58.4 x 73.7 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Hamilton, ON

$3,000 — 4,000 VIEW LOT

129

LUKE ANGUHADLUQ ᓗᐅᒃ ᐊᒐᓴᓗ (1895-1982),

QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

UNTITLED (WOMEN AND FISHERMEN), CA. 1975 coloured pencil drawing; signed in syllabics; disc number inscribed sight 22.25 x 28.25 in — 56.5 x 71.8 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON

RELATED WORKS:

Cynthia Waye Cook, From the Centre: The Drawings of Luke Anguhadluq (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1993), 56, pl. 49.

$3,000 — 4,000

ENNUTSIAK ᐃᓄᓯᐊ (1896-1967), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

MENDING CHILD’S AMAUTI, CA. 1960

stone, ivory; signed in syllabics

3.75 x 7.5 x 5 in — 9.5 x 19.1 x 12.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ottawa, ON

Walker’s Auctioneers, Ottawa, ON, 12 Jun 2019, lot 139

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$7,000 — 10,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

ENNUTSIAK ᐃᓄᓯᐊ (1896-1967), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

MOTHER AND CHILD, CA. 1960

stone; unsigned

3.75 x 3.75 x 2.75 in — 9.5 x 9.5 x 7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs

Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

$700 — 1,000

ATTRIBUTED TO AKEEAKTASHUK ᐊᑭᐊᑐᓱ (1898-1954), INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

HUNTER, CA. 1950 stone, ivory; unsigned

4.25 x 2.25 x 1 in — 10.8 x 5.7 x 2.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$1,500 — 2,500

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

LUCASSIE KUMARLUK ᓗᑲᓯ (B. 1921), INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

FATHER TEACHING SON TO HUNT, CA. 1960

stone, ivory, sinew; both signed in syllabics; disc number inscribed largest 8.75 x 4.75 x 4.5 in — 22.2 x 12.1 x 11.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Estate, Ontario

$700 — 1,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

MARC ALIKASWA ᒪᐊᒃ ᐃᓕᑲᓴ (1928-2008), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

MOTHER AND CHILD, CA. 1970 stone; unsigned

4 x 3.5 x 3 in — 10.2 x 8.9 x 7.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$400 — 500

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

JOHN PANGNARK ᔭᓐ ᐸᓇ (1920-1980), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

WAVING FIGURE, CA. 1968 stone; signed in syllabics

4.25 x 2.25 x 1 in — 10.8 x 5.7 x 2.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Dennis Webster, Arviat, NU

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 6 Dec 1995, lot 1042 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

$2,000 — 3,000

The present sculpture is one of a small number of early Pangnark figures collected by former Arviat Crafts Officer Dennis Webster, and first consigned to Waddington’s in 1995.

Notably, Pangnarks consigned to Waddington’s by Webster in ‘95 are characterized by their early, almost experimental forms.1

Webster was an important figure in the history of Arviat sculpture. Arriving in Arviat as Crafts Officer in 1966, he encouraged many of the early artists to pursue carving. In the 1993 Government of Canada catalogue, Pelts to Stone, artists Lucy Tasseor Tutsweetok, and Mary Ayaq Anowtalik identified Webster as the first person to encourage them and others in Arviat to begin sculpting.2

1 Waddington’s Auctioneers, Important Sale by Auction, Fall 1995 (Toronto: Waddington McLean & Company Ltd., 1995), 55, 62, lots 1042, 1049.

2 Mark Kalluak, Pelts to Stone: A History of Arts and Crafts Production in Arviat (Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1993), 31, 36.

RELATED WORKS: George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1972), 210, pl. 615, pl. 621.

VIEW LOT

KAROO ASHEVAK ᑲᕈ ᐊᓴᕙ (1940-1974), TALOYOAK (SPENCE BAY)

SPIRIT, 1972

whalebone, antler, stone; signed in syllabics

14.5 x 13 x 6 in — 36.8 x 33 x 15.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Galerie Lippel, Montreal, QC

Private Collection, Montreal, QC

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 6 Dec 1995, lot 1056

Private Collection, Ontario

First Arts, Toronto, ON, 12 Jul 2020

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

EXHIBITED:

Lippel Gallery, Montreal, QC, 1974

LITERATURE:

Leon Lippel, Inuit Sculpture 1974 (Montreal: Lippel Gallery Inc., 1974), 43. Pamela Harris, Karoo Ashevak Spirits (New York: American Indian Arts Center, 1973), unpaged, pl. 11.

$30,000 — 50,000

VIEW LOT

With their ingenuity and unique vision, Karoo’s sculptures continue to intrigue generation after generation of collectors with their mix of imagination and humour.

Karoo’s preferred medium was whalebone due to the wonderfully abstract and curvilinear shapes of the bones in their unaltered state. These forms lent themselves to Karoo’s visions of the spirit world. Per Pamela Harris, “his approach to his work is unlike that of most Eskimo carvers, who believe that the form of the finished carving already exists within any piece of stone or bone and who consider that the carver’s work is to free that form from the material that has kept it confined. Ashevak always begins his carvings with an idea in mind and then choses material of appropriate sizes and shapes. It is with the grotesque and wonderful pieces of whalebone that his genius has exploded.” 1

He worked the whalebone using simple tools: a carpenter’s saw, files, and a drill. Karoo especially loved working with a drill, and would use it to hollow out nostrils in many of his most signature creations, as evidenced in both Karoo sculptures in this auction, lots 136 and 168.

1972 was a pivotal year in Karoo’s short career, a year which included his first solo show in Toronto in March, as well as a great burst of creativity on the artistic front. This Spirit, in contrast with other sculptures, is serene, its face sweetly upturned to the sky with an enigmatic Mona Lisa-esque smile. It is an elegant form, pared down to its essence. Though Karoo was noted for his enjoyment of introducing “moving parts” in his work, this sculpture is concise and unto itself.

Karoo’s sculptures, though they can often be variations on a theme or an idea he was working out, are always unique. Jean Blodgett writes that “Each sculpture is an integral unit representing a particular being, without reference to specific myths, stories or daily events…The images in Ashevak’s sculpture originate in the general culture and tradition of the Eskimo, but the works are not so specific in reference as to be bound by this ethnic origin…The cultural heritage and consequent meaning strengthen and enrich the images but do not restrict them - the work can speak to those who have no knowledge of the Eskimo or his culture.” Though distinctly Karoo, his figures are never repeated, making this Spirit a work not to be missed.

1 Pamela Harris, Karoo Ashevak Spirits (New York: American Indian Arts Center, 1973), unpaged.

2 Jean Blodgett, Karoo Ashevak: Winnipeg Art Gallery, March 30 to June 5, 1977 (Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1977), unpaged.

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

ABRAHAM APAKARK ANGHIK ᐊᐃᐊᔭᑲ ᐊᐸᑲ ᐊᒋ, OC (B. 1951), PAULATUK

RAVENS AND SPIRITS, CA. 2000 whalebone; no visible signature

27 x 37 x 16 in — 68.6 x 94 x 40.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$3,000 — 4,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

GEORGE ARLUK ᐊᓗ (1949-2023), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

TRANSFORMATION, CA. 1977

stone; signed in syllabics

18.5 x 10.25 x .75 in — 47 x 26 x 1.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

RELATED WORKS:

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 30 May 1989, lot 529

$1,500 — 2,500

139

POOTOOGOOK KINGWATSIAK ᐳᑐᒍ (B. 1936), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

THE DESTINY OF AKMGIRK, 1960

sealskin stencil; titled, dated and numbered 48/50; artist’s name in Roman sight 16 x 10.75 in — 40.6 x 27.3 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Ontario

$2,000 — 3,000

VIEW LOT

140

PARR ᐸ (1893-1969), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

GEESE AND INTRUDERS, 1967 stonecut; numbered 44/50; artist’s name in Roman sheet 39.25 x 24.75 in — 99.7 x 62.9 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$3,000 — 5,000

VIEW LOT

141

KIAKSHUK ᑭᐊᓱ (1886-1966), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

SUMMER TENT, 1960

sealskin stencil; titled, dated and numbered 27/50; artist’s name in Roman sight 14.5 x 22 in — 36.8 x 55.9 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Ontario

$3,000 — 4,000

VIEW LOT

JESSIE OONARK ᔪᓯ ᐃᓇ, OC, RCA (1906-1985), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

UNTITLED (MUSK OX), CA. 1967 stonecut; unmarked trial proof; stamped with Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) chop

22.25 x 30 in — 56.5 x 76.2 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON

RELATED WORKS: Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard, Jessie Oonark A Retrospective (Winnipeg: Kromar Printing Ltd., 1986), 101, pl. 19, 108, pl. 32, 111, pl. 35.

$1,500 — 2,500

VIEW LOT

PAUNICHEA ᐸᓂᓯ (1920-1968), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

FISHING SCENE, 1963

stencil; titled, dated and numbered 26/50; artist’s name in syllabics; inscription verso sheet 24.25 x 28.25 in — 61.6 x 71.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Estate, Ontario

$600 — 900

VIEW LOT

144

KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK ᑲᓇᒋᓇ ᐳᑐᒍᑭ, RCA (1935-2010), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

THE FIRST TOURIST, 1992

lithograph; titled, dated and numbered 23/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 22.5 x 28 in — 57.2 x 71.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON, 2003

Private Estate, Ontario

$700 — 900

VIEW LOT

145

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, POSSIBLY KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

SCENE ON LAND AND IN AIR

experimental batik on fabric; unsigned

15.5 x 23 in — 39.4 x 58.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

$500 — 700

VIEW LOT

Before the creation of the legendary 1959 print release at Kinngait (Cape Dorset), James Houston travelled to Japan to gain knowledge about traditional Japanese printing techniques that would be invaluable in the development of printmaking in the Arctic. Intent on studying with master printmaker Un’ichi Hiratsuka, Houston also worked with other Japanese printmakers including Shiko Munakata, Shoji Hamada, Keisuke Serizawa, Kichiemon Okamura, Sadoa Watanabe, and Yoshito Mori.1 Back in Kinngait, Osuitok Ipeelee, Iyola Kingwatsiak, Eegyvudluk Pootoogook, Kananginak Pootoogook, and Lukta Qiatsuk worked with techniques brought back by Houston, manipulating, adapting and developing them to suit their needs and preferences. An artist himself, and eager to teach by example, James Houston was not to be left behind. Houston made prints of his own, including his iconic 1959 portrait of the mysterious artist Niviaksiak.

The present print block portrait of an unidentified Inuk dates circa 1959 and is from the personal collection of Terry Ryan, the first art advisor and general manager of the West Baffin Co-operative.

1 Norman Vorano et al., Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration: Early Printmaking in the Canadian Arctic (Gatineau, Québec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2011), 9.

146

JAMES ARCHIBALD HOUSTON, OC, FRSA (1921-2005), CANADIAN

UNTITLED (FIGURE SITTING), CA. 1959

linoleum and fibre-board print block

10 x 9 in — 25.4 x 22.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Collection of Terry Ryan

Private Collection, Ontario

$1,000 — 2,000

VIEW LOT

147

JAMES ARCHIBALD HOUSTON, OC, FRSA (1921-2005), CANADIAN

UNTITLED (OWL AND OWLETS), CA. 1959

linoleum print block

8 x 8.75 in — 20.3 x 22.2 cm

PROVENANCE: The Collection of Terry Ryan Private Collection, Ontario

$1,000 — 1,500 VIEW LOT

148

MARY PITSEOLAK ᒥᕆ ᐱᓯᐅᓚ (B. 1931), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

TWO SMALL BIRDS, 1963 stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 4/50; artist’s name in syllabics; inscription verso sheet 18.25 x 12.25 in — 46.4 x 31.1 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Estate, Ontario

$400 — 600 VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ ᐊᓯᕙ, CC, RCA (1927-2013)

JOHNNIEBO ASHEVAK ᔭᓂᕗ ᐊᓴᕙ (1923-1972), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

TWO BIRDS, CA. 1965

stone; left: no visible signature; right: signed in syllabics “ᔭᓂ” right 9.75 x 9 x 4.25 in — 24.8 x 22.9 x 10.8 cm; left 5.5 x 9.5 x 4.25 in — 14 x 24.1 x 10.8 cm;

PROVENANCE:

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 27 Nov 1986, lot 967

An important Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$5,000 — 7,000

Beginning in the mid 1950s, before taking up drawing Kenojuak Ashevak and her first husband Johnniebo expressed their visions in stone. Kenojuak continued carving a modest number of sculptures until the end of her long career, and Johnniebo carved until his death in 1972. Attribution of sculptures by the pair can be difficult as both are documented as having signed some of each other’s artworks, and possibly collaborated on others.1

The present sculptures date ca. 1960 and are among the couple’s earlier examples. Confidently sculpted and finely finished, they exhibit less exaggerated, more life-like proportions than many of Kenouak’s or Johnniebo’s later investigations of avian subjects.

In the 1990s images of the two sculptures were shown in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) to artist and studio manager of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative, Jimmy Manning. When Manning was asked who they were made by, he scoffed at the apparent naivety of the enquiry, answering that they were the work of Kenojuak.2

1 Richard C. Crandall, Inuit Art A History (North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 142.

2 Jimmy Manning, personal communication with the author, ca. 1999.

POSSIBLY GEORGE TATANIQ ᑕᑕᓂ (1910-1991), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

MUSK OX, CA. 1970 stone; unsigned

3.75 x 6.25 x 2.25 in — 9.5 x 15.9 x 5.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$250 — 350

VIEW LOT

BARNABUS ARNASUNGAAQ ᐸᓇᐸᓯ ᐊᓇᓴᒐ (1924-2017),

QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

STRIDING MUSK OX, CA. 1970 stone; signed in syllabics

9 x 14 x 6 in — 22.9 x 35.6 x 15.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Duane MacMillan, Saskatchewan, 1974

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$8,000 — 12,000

KIUGAK (KIAWAK) ASHOONA ᑭᐊᒐ OC, RCA (1933-2014), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

DANCING WALRUS, CA. 1963

stone, ivory; unsigned; inscribed “5-25”

10.5 x 7.5 x 7.5 in — 26.7 x 19.1 x 19.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Snow Goose Gallery, Ottawa, ON, 1974

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$3,000 — 5,000

153

DAVIE ATCHEALAK ᑎᕕ ᐊᓯᐊᓪ (1947-2006)

IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

DANCING BEAR, CA. 1990

stone; signed in Roman 17 x 15.5 x 4.5 in — 43.2 x 39.4 x 11.4 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Ontario

$3,000 — 5,000

LOT

154

IDRIS MOSS-DAVIES ᑲᓚ (B. 1974), QIKIQTARJUAQ (BROUGHTON ISLAND) / TORONTO

DANCING FIGURE, CA. 1990

stone, ivory; signed in syllabics

9.5 x 4 x 2.5 in — 24.1 x 10.2 x 6.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$700 — 900

LOT

VIEW

VIEW

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155

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

HUNTER WITH SPEAR AND AVATAQ, CA. 1953

stone, ivory, wood, sinew, sealskin; unsigned

19.25 x 10.5 x 6 in — 48.9 x 26.7 x 15.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Walker’s Auctioneers, Ottawa, ON, 12 Jun 2019, lot 26

Private Estate, Ontario

$8,000 — 12,000

Perhaps no single image is more closely associated with early Inuit art, or the mythology of its makers, than the hunter poised with a harpoon. Many of the important early sculptors thought of themselves as hunters first, and artists second. A hunter with a harpoon is the subject of pioneering artist Akeeaktashuk’s most iconic figures, as it is in Niviaxie’s early totemic image Man Hunting at Seal Hole in the Ice.

In the early and mid-1950s powerful camp leaders such as Abraham Nastapoka, Sarollie Weetaluktook, and Johnny Inukpuk were the first to take up sculpting in Inukjuak (Port Harrison), and it is from this early period that Hunter with Harpoon and Avataq dates.1 While the authorship of many early Inukjuak sculptures has been identified, the output of some artists has been consistently challenging to identify. Three of the region’s most lauded sculptors, Akeeaktashuk, Isa Smiler, and Johnny Inukpuk are known for a remarkable versatility of styles.

Hunter with Harpoon and Avataq has been sculpted on a grand scale, well in excess of twice the size of many large Inukjuak compositions, and notably nearly identical in size to the towering Hunter (Cat. No. EC 82-603) by Johnny Inukpuk from 1971 in the Collection of the TD Bank Financial Group.2

1 Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), 22.

2 Wight, Early Masters, 84.

VIEW LOT

PAUTA SAILA ᐸᐅᑕ ᓯᓚ RCA (1916-2009), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

REARING BEAR, CA. 1965 stone, ivory; unsigned

22.5 x 10 x 9.5 in — 57.2 x 25.4 x 24.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Snow Goose Gallery, Ottawa, ON, 1974 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$20,000 — 30,000

Though made when the artist was nearly 50, this 1965 sculpture marks an early iteration of Pauta’s signature bears. Brooding and raw, squarely planted on two legs, this bear stands in contrast with later Dancing Bears, which can be more winsome than fierce. Similarly, it is less studied than later examples, and shows the artist’s earliest thoughts about the subject. As is the case with many of Pauta’s bears, the sculpture is gracefully balanced and harmonious in composition, expressing its own unique personality and verve. Collectors of Pauta’s work will enjoy owning one of his rare early creations.

This bear is also notable for its large size and excellent provenance, documented and dated by The Snow Goose Gallery, Ottawa. The stone used by Pauta reinforces its age, indicative of the period in which it was made. As Inuit artists typically use materials that can be found locally, regions can be distinguished by their distinctive stone or stones, sometimes even down to a particular quarry or vein. Once a particular vein of stone has been exhausted, another must be found, meaning that certain shades and variations of stone truly encapsulate a time and place.

JOHN KAVIK ᔭᓐ ᑲᕕ (1897-1993), KANGIQLINIQ (RANKIN INLET)

TWO FIGURES WITH DOG, CA. 1970 stone; unsigned

17 x 9.9 x 6.5 in — 43.2 x 25.1 x 16.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Canadiana Galleries, Edmonton, AB, 1974

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$4,000 — 6,000 VIEW LOT

158

JOHN TIKTAK ᔭᓐ ᑎᑕ, RCA (1916-1981), KANGIQLINIQ (RANKIN INLET)

MAN WITH HANDS IN POCKETS, CA. 1970 stone; signed in syllabics

11 x 6 x 3.5 in — 27.9 x 15.2 x 8.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 15 Dec 1981, lot 483 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$10,000 — 15,000

This delightfully jaunty and expressive figure by John Tiktak is characterised by one of the artist’s most recognizable stylistic devices: the arms defined in loops of stone, separated from the torso by oval-shaped excavated areas. In the present work, the feature seems particularly suggestive of a man standing, slightly hunched with his hands in his pockets. The figure’s face appears joyous. The compressed eyes and whisper of a smile on the figure is almost evocative of the peaceful faces of Tiktak’s Arviat contemporary John Pangnark. Like so many of Tiktak’s reserved portraits, Man with Hands in His Pockets rewards close inspection and viewing in-the-round.

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159

JOHNNY INUKPUK ᔭᓂ ᐃᓄᐳ, RCA (1911-2007), INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

CROUCHING MOTHER CRADLING CHILD, CA. 1955 stone, ivory, melted phonograph records; unsigned 5 x 9.5 x 4.5 in — 12.7 x 24.1 x 11.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Hamilton, ON Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 19 Nov 2019, lot 52

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$20,000 — 30,000

Said to be one of, if not the best known, of the early masters of Inuit sculpture, Johnny Inukpuk was born the son of a respected camp leader. Inukpuk was said to be a respected camp leader in his own right as early as 1958, along with Abraham Nastapoka and Sarollie Weetaluktuk, three of the earliest 20th century sculptors in Inukjuak (Port Harrison).

Inukpuk worked in a range of styles but is probably best known for his rendering of beautifully polished, soft rounded features. In the middle 1950s many of his works were inset with hard rubber from melted phonograph records, as well as ivory inlay, often embellished with finely incised designs.

Darlene Coward Wight, in her text Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955, notes that Inukpuk was particularly talented in locating excellent stone, which “is characterised by pronounced, translucent layers that glow in the light, and by gold patches that enhance this opalescent effect. Inukpuk made intelligent use of this colourful stone by reducing carved details and creating smooth, round forms that are polished to a shiny brilliance.” 2

Crouching Mother and Child, dated ca. 1955, pushes the artist’s use of soft contours and minimal forms to the limit, creating an artwork unmatched in Inukjuak sculpture of the era for its original use of reductive composition. The mother has taken her arms out of the sleeves of her amauti, and bundled inside it, echoes the form of her swaddled child held barely visible through the garment’s opening. Fine details are embellished with inlay and delicate incising. The original fine polishing of the surface is still evident.

1 Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), 22.

2 Wight, Early Masters, 84.

POLAR BEAR, CA. 2000

stone; signed in Roman

17.5 x 22 x 9 in — 44.5 x 55.9 x 22.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$4,000 — 6,000

VIEW LOT

NUNA PARR ᓄᓇ ᐸ (B. 1949), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

VIEW LOT

OSUITOK IPEELEE ᐅᓱᐃᑐ ᐃᐱᓕ

RCA (1923-2005), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

REARING CARIBOU, CA. 1995 stone, antler; signed in syllabics

27.25 x 14.5 x 8.75 in — 69.2 x 36.8 x 22.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$15,000 — 20,000

All of Osuitok’s caribou are feats of engineering, but none more so than the gracefully rearing iterations, of which this is one. They are extreme examples of balance and precision, their gravity-defying compositions perfectly able to express the elegance of the caribou. Though the base of this sculpture looks miniscule in proportion to the large body above, this is a particularly stable and finely carved example.

Through the 1950s and later, Osuitok was his community’s “keeper of the carving stone,” leading the expeditions to quarry materials in the summer months when the ground had thawed sufficiently. In guiding other artists when selecting stone, he came to understand the way the material fractures and breaks. That intimate knowledge of the stone assisted him in his ability to carve his caribou with finesse and equilibrium.

Of his process Osuitok explained:

“When I’m doing a caribou, I first make the outline of the animal starting with the muzzle, the nose, and then I work my way down to the body. Then I work on the leg areas. The standing caribou are more difficult than the kneeling ones. I work with files when I am doing the legs and ears. The ears are the last thing I do because they tend to break off. So I finish with those.

I don’t use the grinder to make the form because sometimes there are areas that you tend to cut into too deeply, something you’re not supposed to do. I prefer to use an axe and a saw. Also I use files that you use for steel (rasps) and then I switch to files for the finer work.

For balancing I make sure the base is smooth and flat so that the caribou doesn’t tip to the front or side.

I just make sure that the bottom of the hooves is perfectly level. I use a level like carpenters use in construction work. I make sure the base is a little bit thick before I start to get it level.” 1

1 Susan Gustavison, Northern Rock Contemporary Inuit Stone Sculpture (Kleinburg: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1999), 64.

DAVID RUBEN PIQTOUKUN

(B. 1950), PAULATUK

STRIDING BEAR, CA. 1985

stone; no visible signature

8 x 20 x 4.75 in — 20.3 x 50.8 x 12.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1988

Private Collection, Florida

$3,000 — 5,000 VIEW LOT

QUVIANATULIAK (KOV) TAKPAUNGAI

(B. 1942), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

SEDNA, 1990 stone; unsigned

19 x 20 x 4 in — 48.3 x 50.8 x 10.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Yellowknife, NT

$3,000 — 5,000

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

DAVID RUBEN PIQTOUKUN

(B. 1950), PAULATUK

SEVEN STONES, 1992 stone; signed in Roman; dated without rocks 16 x 13 x 8 in — 40.6 x 33 x 20.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

LITERATURE:

Harold Seidelman and James Turner, The Inuit Imagination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 1993), 169.

$3,000 — 5,000

The joy of hearing stories told by his mother and grandmother about shamanism and traditional beliefs influenced a young David Ruben Piqtoukun and has spawned images recurring throughout the artist’s career. Images of flight appear throughout the oeuvres of Piqtoukun and his brother Abraham Anghik, and are said to originate in the supposed otherworldly travels of their grandfather, a reputed shaman.1

Of the present work, Seven Stones, published in Harold Seidelman’s and James Turner’s The Inuit Imagination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture, it has been said “The shaman’s soul is leaving his body lying within a tent ring, Seven Stones representing the bondage to the human world. The stones have been used to hold down a tent. They may be used again to surround a final resting place.” 2

1 Darlene Coward Wight, Between Two Worlds: David Ruben Piqtoukun (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Gallery of Art, 1996), 3.

2 Harold Seidelman and James Turner, The Inuit Imagination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1993), 203, pl. 169.

VIEW LOT

BILL NASOGALUAK

ᐱᐃᓪ ᓇᓱᒐᓗᐊᒃ

(B. 1953), TUKTUYAAQTUUQ (TUKTOYAKTUK)

VOYAGE OF LOST SOULS, 2013 stone; signed in Roman; dated 11 x 21.5 x 6.25 in — 27.9 x 54.6 x 15.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON $4,000 — 6,000

The art of Bill Nasogaluak, an accomplished selftaught sculptor, painter and instructor originally from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, has garnered notable curatorial and collector attention in recent years.

Nasogaluak has created a body of distinctive, socially conscious artworks, sometimes wry in humour and often unflinching in their directness. His imagery draws on Inuit shamanism and mythology, as well as both Inuit and Western art historical traditions to investigate a wide range of the artist’s experience. Artworks confront issues as diverse as climate change, self-harm, depression, and the impacts of industry in the North.

In a 2020 interview, Nasogaluak explained the impetus for a related artwork addressing alcoholism, relaying that his cousin suffered from alcohol addiction, ultimately taking his own life.1 Voyage of Lost Souls addresses the traumatic path of those who are victim to the illness, and addresses the potentially intergenerational nature of its repercussions.

1 Feheley Fine Arts. “Bill Nasogaluak: Shapeshifter.” YouTube video, 1:17. March 26, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Tj1kGWeN4zE

BILL NASOGALUAK ᐱᐃᓪ ᓇᓱᒐᓗᐊᒃ (B. 1953), TUKTUYAAQTUUQ (TUKTOYAKTUK)

SEAL IN OIL DRUM, 2009 stone; unsigned

9 x 5.25 x 4.25 in — 22.9 x 13.3 x 10.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$900 — 1,200

VIEW LOT

ABRAHAM APAKARK ANGHIK ᐊᐃᐊᔭᑲ ᐊᐸᑲ ᐊᒋ, OC (B. 1951), PAULATUK

SEDNA AND ANGUTA CREATION MYTH, CA. 2000 stone; unsigned

18.75 x 22 x 7 in — 47.6 x 55.9 x 17.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$4,000 — 6,000

VIEW LOT

KAROO ASHEVAK ᑲᕈ ᐊᓴᕙ (1940-1974), TALOYOAK (SPENCE BAY)

SPIRIT, CA. 1971

whalebone, stone, ivory; signed in syllabics

7.5 x 6.5 x 6.25 in — 19.1 x 16.5 x 15.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$7,000 — 9,000

With their ingenuity and unique vision, Karoo’s sculptures continue to intrigue generation after generation of collectors with their mix of imagination and humour.

Karoo’s preferred medium was whalebone due to the wonderfully abstract and curvilinear shapes of the bones in their unaltered state. These forms lent themselves to Karoo’s visions of the spirit world. Per Pamela Harris, “his approach to his work is unlike that of most Eskimo carvers, who believe that the form of the finished carving already exists within any piece of stone or bone and who consider that the carver’s work is to free that form from the material that has kept it confined. Ashevak always begins his carvings with an idea in mind and then choses material of appropriate sizes and shapes. It is with the grotesque and wonderful pieces of whalebone that his genius has exploded.” 1

Karoo had a wealth of material to work from, leftovers from generations of hunters dating as far back as 1000 C.E. The bones presented a complex range of textures from delicate to rock-hard for the artist to negotiate. Karoo was extraordinarily technically proficient, and was able to exploit the medium to suit his purposes. He worked the whalebone using simple tools: a carpenter’s saw, files, and a drill. Karoo especially loved working with a drill, and would use it to hollow out nostrils in many of his most signature creations, as evidenced in both Karoo sculptures in this auction, lot 136 and 168.

In lot 168, the influence of Western Arctic masks can be seen. Some historic secular masks displayed distorted and irregular features, either in parody or for amusement. Karoo’s sense of humour is often mentioned in scholarship about his works, and is in full evidence here. Jean Blodgett notes that any distortion of human or animal features were understood by Inuit viewers as representative of the spirit realm: “Although exaggerated features were used on the masks for their comic effect, distortion was also utilised for the depiction of the supernatural. Masks with greatly distorted features - to the point of abstraction - were usually of mythological beings such as dwarfs, giants or those non-human beings who lived together in certain places.” 2

This particular sculpture, a quintessential example of the artist’s oeuvre, is fresh to market. For the second Spirit sculpture by the artist in this auction, please see lot 136.

1 Pamela Harris, Karoo Ashevak Spirits (New York: American Indian Arts Center, 1973), unpaged.

2 Jean Blodgett, Karoo Ashevak: Winnipeg Art Gallery, March 30 to June 5, 1977 (Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1977), unpaged.

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

169

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, TALOYOAK (SPENCE BAY)

SPIRITS

whalebone, stone; signed in syllabics “ᑯᑐ”

14.25 x 10.5 x 7.5 in — 36.2 x 26.7 x 19.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$1,000 — 2,000

The work of an unidentified Taloyoak (Spence Bay) artist, the work is signed “ᑯᑐ” or Kuttuq which translates to Puddle accumulated from dripping snow 1

1 Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit. “Kuttuq.” Uqausiit: The Inuktut Grammar Dictionary. https://uqausiit.ca/node/8649

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

170

THOMAS SIVURAQ ᑕᒪᓯ ᓯᕗᒐ (B. 1941), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

DANCING SPIRIT, CA. 1980 antler, ivory, fur, hide; unsigned

12 x 5 x 4.75 in — 30.5 x 12.7 x 12.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$300 — 500

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

171

ADAM ALORUT ᐊᑕᒻ ᐊᓗᕈᑦ (1980-2020), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

SEDNA, CA. 2000 ivory, stone; signed in syllabics

3.25 x 9.25 x 3 in — 8.3 x 23.5 x 7.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$300 — 500

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

172

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST

MAN IN KAYAK WITH AVATAQ, CA. 1970

ivory, stone, sinew; unsigned

2.25 x 8.25 x 5 in — 5.7 x 21 x 12.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

$200 — 300

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST

HUNTER IN KAYAK WITH AVATAQ AND RIFLE, 1970 stone, ivory, sinew, sealskin; unsigned

2.25 x 8.5 x 2.25 in — 5.7 x 21.6 x 5.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke

By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

$300 — 500

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

SHEOKJUK OQUTAQ ᓱᐅᔪ

(1920-1982), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

HUNTING SCENE, CA. 1949

ivory, stone, wood; unsigned with base 5.75 x 9.25 x 5.25 in — 14.6 x 23.5 x 13.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

$2,000 — 3,000

An exceptionally talented artist and elder brother to the gifted Osuitok Ipeelee, Sheokjuk Oqutaq worked as a carpenter building houses and boats for many years until his death in 1982, notably constructing the very first building for the West Baffin Cooperative in Cape Dorset (Kinngait) in 1961. Throughout much of that time he made sculpture characterised by its refined and often delicate fine detail.1

This pair of early figures by the artist are available for the first time since they were collected by Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke during his time in the Arctic.

1 Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), 154.

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

175

BEAU DICK (1955-2017), KWAKWAKA’WAKW

POOK-MIS MASK (SPIRIT OF THE NEARLY DROWNED), 1989 shredded cedar bark, cedar, paint, feathers, twine; signed and dated; also inscribed “West Coast / Pook-Mis”

30.5 x 15 x 9 in — 77.5 x 38.1 x 22.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Lattimer Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Sep 1989

Private Collection, Pittsburgh, PA

$10,000 — 15,000

Born in the community of Yalis (Alert Bay), British Columbia, Beau Dick, known as Walas Gwa’yam, which translates to Big Whale, is widely acknowledged for his importance as both an artist and activist. His artworks have contributed to the ceremonial life of his community, and have expanded the popular conception of Northwest Coast art and imagery among collectors and fellow artists.

Many of Dick’s creations take on a haunting or otherworldly aspect mediated by the artist’s integration of a colour palette and style incorporating imagery from Japanese and Western pop culture.

The present artwork is inscribed in the interior West Coast Pook-mis, and depicts the ghost-like Pookmis spirit, sometimes called Pukwu:bis by the Makah, Spirit of the Nearly Drowned, The Other Wild Man or The Destroyer. 1 Pookmis masks are part of an extended family of wild-man and wild-woman imagery that includes the cannibalistic Dzunukwa spirit, who is sometimes said to be the keeper of drowned souls, returning the souls of drowned whalers to their villages during their memorials.

Pook-mis includes a length of twine suspending a cedar whistle. Whistles are closely associated on the Northwest Coast with the voices of spirits, and among the Tlingit are sometimes even called ye’k se (spirit’s voice).2

1 Feest, Christian. "Transformations of a Mask: Confidential Intelligence from the Lifeway of Things." BaesslerArchiv, Neue Folge, Band XLVI. 1998. https://cajs.no/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Transformations_of_a_Mask_ Confidential_I.pdf

2 George Thorton Emmons and Frederica de Laguna, The Tlingit Indians (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991), 454.

VIEW LOT

CHARLES JOSEPH (BOONE) (B. 1959), KWAKWAKA’WAKW

CROOKED BEAK MASK, 2002

cedar, paint, operculum, shredded cedar bark; signed and dated with stand 30 x 21.5 x 8 in — 76.2 x 54.6 x 20.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Halifax, NS

$6,000 — 8,000

The Crooked-beak mask, or galukw’amhl was traditionally made as part of a suite of Hamat´sa masks, which as a group are among the most dramatic in the Kwakwaka’wakw sculptural tradition.

The galukw’amhl is danced by an initiate of the Hamat´sa society who personifies one of the lively associates of the cannibal spirit Baxwbakwalanukwsiwe’. The right to dance a galukw’amhl and other costumes of the Hamat´sa society are valuable inherited prerogatives, indicative of status and wealth.

The present mask is sculpted by Kwakwaka’wakw master carver Charles Joseph. Joseph’s work is found in public and private collections in Canada and abroad, and has been on display in the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Montreal, QC, and Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, MB.

VIEW LOT

DAVID NEEL (B. 1960), KWAKWAKA’WAKW

LUSTFUL LADY MASK, 1998

wood, paint, shredded cedar bark, hair, abalone; signed, titled and dated

33 x 10.75 x 7.25 in — 83.8 x 27.3 x 18.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$1,000 — 2,000

VIEW LOT

178

ANDREA M. WILBUR-SIGO, SQUAXIN ISLAND AND SKOKOMISH (COAST SALISH)

CORNER ORIENTED BENTWOOD BOX, 1998

cedar, paint; signed and dated; inscribed “Northern Box 8/98”

17/5 x 12.5 x 12.5 in — 444.5 x 31.8 x 31.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$5,000 — 7,000

Best known as a master carver in the Coast Salish tradition, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo is the first known woman carver in a family with a long tradition of the artform. Working early on in beadwork, Wilbur-Sigo was fascinated by sculptural forms, and has since been acclaimed for her work across a range of media and subject matter including bentwood boxes, welcome figures, house posts, masks, panels, button blankets, twine, twill weaving, and baskets weaving. Wilbur-Sigo notes, “It’s always said, ‘Women didn’t carve.’ That was normal and a lot of people believed it. But I come from a lot of stubborn women. You can’t tell me they didn’t pick up a knife and carve.” 1

Many of the artist’s most important works are in public collections and major works by the artist are uncommon on the secondary market. Wilbur-Sigo’s creations are on public display and held in collections at the University of Washington; Chief Seattle Clubs, an affordable housing development in Victoria, BC; Washington State Convention Center, City of Olympia, and Kraken Community complex in Northgate, WA, among others.2

The present box, made in a Northern Northwest Coast style is finely carved and painted in a corner orientation. Of traditional pegged construction, it is made without the use of adhesives. The lid and base are cut from red cedar, as are the four walls of the box, which are carved and steam-bent from a single 44-inch length of timber.

1 Brennan, Natasha. "From house posts to hockey sticks, Squaxin artist Andrea Wilbur-Sigo carves her way." The News Tribune. May 27, 2022. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/state/washington/article255590371.html

2 Stusser, Danny and Julia Ornedo. "‘Unity’ gateway carvings unveiled on Eastside Street". The JOLT News. December 8, 2023. https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/unity-gateway-carvings-unveiled-on-eastsidestreet,4533

ATTRIBUTED TO:

AUGUSTUS BEAN (KH’ALYAAN EESH KEITXUT’CH) (1852-1926); RUDOLPH WALTON (KAAWOOTK’, AAK’WAATSEEN) (1867-1951), TLINGIT

RECLINING THUNDERBIRD BOWL, CA. 1890

wood, stain; unsigned

4 x 11.5 x 5 in — 10.2 x 29.2 x 12.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$3,000 — 4,000

180

JOHN KAVIK ᔭᓐ ᑲᕕ (1897-1993), KANGIQLINIQ (RANKIN INLET)

STANDING WOMAN, CA. 1970

stone; signed in syllabics

10.25 x 5 x 2 in — 26 x 12.7 x 5.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 6 Dec 1995, lot 931

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$2,000 — 3,000

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

181

FRANCIS KALURAQ ᑲᓗᕋ (1931-1990), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

FIGURE WITH FOUR FACES, CA. 1965

stone; signed in syllabics

8.75 x 4.5 x 2.5 in — 22.2 x 11.4 x 6.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Walker’s Auctioneers, Ottawa, ON, 13 Nov 2011, lot 109

Private Estate, Ontario

$10,000 — 15,000

Relatively little information is readily available about the important early Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) artist Francis Kaluraq. His early works in sculptures are impressive in their distinctly recognisable and monumental style. George Swinton evidently appreciated Kaluraq’s work and included sculpture by the artist both in Eskimo Sculpture in 1965, and in his 1972, and revised 1992 editions of Sculpture of the Eskimo.1

Although active as a printer in the 1970s in Qamani’tuaq, very few sculptures by Kaluraq have come to market. The present work, Figure with Four Faces, likely dating to the mid1960s, appears to be the only example of the four-faced subject in the artist’s apparently small oeuvre. In some regards stylistically evocative of the formalised style of fellow Qamani’tuaq artist George Tataniq, Figure with Four Faces predates Tataniq’s best known sculptural statements of the early 1970s. With its subtle abstraction, confidence of line, and enigmatic subject matter, it stands favourably against the important later works of Qamani’tuaq figuration.

1 George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1965), 93, 100; George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1972/1992), 222, pl. 684, 226, pl. 711.

Related Works:

James Houston, George Swinton and William E. Taylor Jr., Sculpture/Inuit (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), unpaged, pl. 259.

Canadian Museum of History. Cat. No. NA 1322. https://www.historymuseum.ca/collections/archive/3195180

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 23 Apr 2007, lot 130

VIEW LOT

182

DAVIDEE MANNUMI ᒪᓄᒥ (1919-1979), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET) / IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

TRANSFORMING SPIRIT, CA. 1961

stone; unsigned

9.25 x 7.75 x 6.5 in — 23.5 x 19.7 x 16.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

LITERATURE:

George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1972/1992), 20, pl. 30.

$5,000 — 7,000

This remarkable and apparently unique transformation sculpture from Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay) dating to the early 1960s is documented both in George Swinton’s original 1972 publication Sculpture of the Eskimo, and again in the revised 1994 iteration of the text. Attributed first to the artist Munamee of Iqaluit, and later specifically to Davidee Mannumi. Although Davidee Mannumi resided in both Kinngait (Cape Dorset) and Iqaluit, the work is a significant departure from the artist’s known oeuvre.1

Swinton had an eye for images of sinuous and startlingly otherworldly strangeness, and favoured the output of artists such as Eli Sallualu Qinuajua.2 In both the 1972 and 1994 editions of his seminal book, he featured the present work alongside Kiugak (Kiawak) Ashoona’s iconic Howling Transforming Spirit. It is not difficult to see why. Mannumi’s voluminous Transforming Spirit is a decidedly languid – if menacing – counterpoint to the gnashing teeth and hard edges of Kiawak’s 1963 creation.

The brooding figure’s broad high shoulders, elongated transforming face, and forward leaning torso are expertly balanced on a single foot. Uniquely, the creature’s back exudes tendrils of hair conjoined with a disembodied humanoid head.

1 Houston, James. "Davidee Mannumi." The Canadian Encyclopedia. January 30, 2008. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/davidee-mannumi

2 Personal correspondence with Harold Seidelman, author and colleague of George Swinton.

183

MARTHA ITTULUKA’NAAQ ᐃᑕᓗᑲᓇ (1912-1981), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

MUSK OXEN AND WOLVES, 1970

stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 15/24; artist’s and printer’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 16.75 x 24 in — 42.5 x 61 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$1,000 — 1,500

VIEW LOT

184

SHEOJUK ETIDLOOIE

(1929-1999), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET) FIRE BIRD, 1999

etching and aquatint; titled, dated and numbered 16/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 28.5 x 23.5 in — 72.4 x 59.7 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON $1,500 — 2,500

VIEW LOT

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ ᐊᓯᕙ, CC, RCA (1927-2013), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

THEO WADDINGTON COMMISSIONED PORTFOLIO II, 1980 lithograph; 6 works; each titled, dated and numbered 27/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics; includes original editioned folio each 22.25 x 31 in — 56.5 x 78.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$4,000 — 6,000

VIEW LOT

186

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ ᐊᓯᕙ, CC, RCA (1927-2013), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

LONG NECKED LOON, 2008

lithograph; titled, dated and numbered 4/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 30 x 41.75 in — 76.2 x 106 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Vermont, USA

$3,000 — 4,000

VIEW LOT

187

KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK ᑲᓇᒋᓇ ᐳᑐᒍᑭ, RCA (1935-2010), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

HAWK IN WINTER DARKNESS, 1985

lithograph; titled, dated and numbered 21/70; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics

sheet 22.25 x 30.25 in — 56.5 x 76.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Vermont, USA

$1,200 — 1,500

188

MAYOREAK ASHOONA ᒪᔪᕆᐊ

, RCA (B. 1946), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

TUULIRJUAK (GREAT BIG LOON), 2009

stonecut and stencil; titled, dated and numbered 41/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 40 x 29 in — 101.6 x 73.7 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Vermont, USA

$1,000 — 1,500

VIEW LOT

189

LUCY QINNUAYUAK ᓗᓯ ᑭᓐᐅᐊᔪᐊ (1915-1982), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

NESTING BIRD, 1969

stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 42/50; artist’s name in Roman sight 17.5 x 23.25 in — 44.5 x 59.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, London, ON $1,000 — 1,500

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

190

THOMAS UGJUK ᑕᒥ ᐅᔪ (B. 1921), KANGIQLINIQ (RANKIN INLET)

MEN HAULING, CA. 1971

stone; signed in Roman; disc number inscribed; collector’s inscription on underside reading “Bought at Rankin Inlet from Thomas Ugjuk 1974”

10 x 17.5 x 8.25 in — 25.4 x 44.5 x 21 cm

PROVENANCE:

Acquired directly from the artist in Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet) by Peter Millard, Saskatchewan, 1974 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$7,000 — 9,000

The son of the renowned Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet) artist John Kavik, Thomas Ugjuk’s sculptures were recognized early on for their importance. A closely related sculpture to Men Hauling can be found prominently on one of the opening pages of George Swinton’s Sculpture of the Eskimo, dated to 1970.

The monumentality of Kavik’s style can be seen in Ugjuk’s blocky and muscular compositions, but so can a stilled movement and sense of tension that is unique to the sculpture of the son. Ugjuk worked for over ten years in the hard and sometimes dangerous environment of the nickel mine at Kangiqliniq before it closed in 1962.1 He was never a prolific sculptor, but his small oeuvre is characterised by depictions of figures grouped together, often labouring in a seemingly shared task.

This large and uncommon example of Ugjuk’s early work was collected in Kangiqliniq in 1974 by collector and staunch supporter of Inuit art Peter Millard, who is perhaps best known to enthusiasts of Kangiqliniq art for his writing in Inuit Art Quarterly.2

1 Maija M. Lutz, Hunters, Carvers, and Collectors: The Chauncey C. Nash Collection of Inuit Art (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012), 102.

2 Neale, Stacey. "The Rankin Inlet Ceramics Project: A Study in Development and Influence." The National Library of Canada. March, 1997, 152. https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/mq26025.pdf

RELATED WORKS:

George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1972), 26.

JOHN TIKTAK ᔭᓐ ᑎᑕ, RCA (1916-1981), KANGIQLINIQ (RANKIN INLET)

MOTHER AND CHILD, CA. 1965

stone; signed in syllabics; inscribed “Tik Tak / Rankin Inlet / Bought from Mrs. R. William / Saskatoon ‘70 (?)”

8.25 x 5.5 x 3.25 in — 21 x 14 x 8.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Canadiana Galleries, Edmonton, AB, 1974

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$8,000 — 12,000 VIEW LOT

SHEOKJUK OQUTAQ ᓱᐅᔪ ᐅᑯᑕ (1920-1982), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

MOTHER AND CHILD, CA. 1952

stone, ivory; unsigned

4.5 x 3.5 x 2 in — 11.4 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Hamilton, ON Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 19 Nov 2019, lot 93

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$7,000 — 10,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, LIKELY INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

FIGURE HAULING ON LINE, CA. 1955

stone; unsigned

7.25 x 9 x 5 in — 18.4 x 22.9 x 12.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke

By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

$700 — 900

VIEW LOT

SAMWILLIE NIVIAXIE

(B. 1923), INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

HUNTER, CA. 1960

stone, antler, sealskin; signed in Roman; disc number inscribed

7 x 4.5 x 2.5 in — 17.8 x 11.4 x 6.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$900 — 1,200

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

SILAS AITTAUQ ᐄᑕᐅ (1933-2013), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

CARIBOU TRANSFORMATION, CA. 1965 stone, antler; unsigned

7.25 x 13.5 x 3.75 in — 18.4 x 34.3 x 9.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$1,500 — 2,500

An early Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) spirit sculpture from Silas Aittauq, one of the region’s first carvers. A closely related subject to the present work appears in later sculptures by fellow Qamani’tuaq artist Josiah Nuilaalik.

A stylisticly related sculpture to the present example is documented in the publication The Zazelenchuk Collection of Eskimo Art, and is dated to 1975.

RELATED WORKS: Jean Blodgett and Stanley Zazelenchuk, The Zazelenchuk Collection of Eskimo Art (Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1978), 17, pl. 1.

DAVID RUBEN PIQTOUKUN

(B. 1950), PAULATUK

MUSK OX SPIRIT, 1998 stone, catlinite, antler; signed in Roman; dated “January 7-1998”

8.75 x 14.5 x 4.5 in — 22.2 x 36.8 x 11.4 cm

PROVENANCE: Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$2,000 — 3,000

197

PAUTA SAILA ᐸᐅᑕ ᓯᓚ, RCA (1916-2009), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

DANCING BEAR, CA. 1980

stone, ivory; signed in syllabics without base 12.25 x 9 x 4.25 in — 31.1 x 22.9 x 10.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Le Chariot, Montreal, QC, 1989

Private Collection, Florida

$8,000 — 10,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

198

ATTRIBUTED TO NOAH KUDLU ᓄᐊ ᑲᓚ (B. 1912), KUUJJUARAPIK (GREAT WHALE RIVER)

SEATED MOTHER AND CHILD, CA. 1954

stone, ivory, pigment; unsigned

9 x 6 x 5.5 in — 22.9 x 15.2 x 14 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$5,000 — 7,000

Very little is known about the artist Noah Kudlu outside of what can be learned from the handful of sculptures attributed to the artist. Born in 1912, Kudlu is recorded as having lived in the areas around Kuujjuarapik (Great Whale River), where fellow early artist Johnny Inukpuk was born in 1911.1

An enigmatic and finely wrought portrait bust of a woman by the artist made circa 1954 and held in the collections of the Canadian Museum of History was chosen to be included in both the landmark 1971 publication Sculpture/Inuit, as well as in George Swinton’s definitive early reference, Sculpture of the Eskimo in 1972. Another work by the artist, an exceptionally fine walrus by Kudlu, dated to 1960, is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.2

Several aspects of Seated Mother and Child show strong similarities with the 1954 portrait bust by Kudlu. The sculpture is confidently developed and the work of a skilled artist. Both sculptures are made from a coarse stone of variegated texture, much harder than the soft argillite for which Sanikiluaq (Belcher Islands) region sculptures are best known. Of particular note are the closeness in the quality and style of the ivory inlay in the two works, the facial structure of the heads, and upward cast of the figure’s faces.

1 Daniel Chartier and al. "Inukpuk, Johnny". Inuit Literatures ᐃᓄᐃᑦ

Littératures inuites. 2018-2021. https://inuit.uqam.ca/en/person/inukpuk-johnny

2 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cat. No. 1970.45.29. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/309668

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

199

DAVIDIALUK ALASUA AMITTU ᑎᕕᑎᐊᓗ (1910-1976), PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

UNDRESSING (STORY OF NULAYUVINIQ), CA. 1959 stone; unsigned; disc number inscribed 9.5 x 6 x 3.25 in — 24.1 x 15.2 x 8.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, The William Eccles Collection of Eskimo Art, 23 Feb 1978, lot 128

Private Collection, Barrie, ON

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 13 May 2021, lot 88

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$4,000 — 6,000

For many, Davidialuk Alasua Amittu is the preeminent Inuit storyteller in image and word. The fatal and the tragic, the mythical and the commonplace are recorded in his iconic images. The present sculpture, Undressing, tells the story of Nulayuviniq, or The One Who Suddenly Grew Big.

In the story of Nulayuviniq, members of a migrating community return to their previous camp to retrieve a mother and children left behind. Upon arrival, they find the group has gone save for one of the children, who has apparently transformed into a giant, her mother’s amauti now dwarfed by the child’s new size, clings around her neck. The rescuers run away striking their whips at the giant, who despite her huge size cries in the voice of a baby. Slowly the rescuers are able to gain distance between themselves and the outsized infant, as they do, she becomes a small dot in the distance and is transformed into a rock island.1

The present sculpture is an early and characterful iteration of the subject, formerly in the collection of William Eccles, and was sold at Waddington’s first large-scale Inuit art auction in 1978.

1 Zebedee Nungak and Eugene Arima, Eskimo Stories Unikkaatuat (Ottawa: National Museum of Canada, 1969), 32-33, pl. 18.

200

DAVID IKUTAAQ ᐃᑯᑕ (1929-1984), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

FAMILY AT PLAY, CA. 1970 stone; signed in syllabics; inscribed “45042”; bears old collection label reading “Ekoota / Baker Lake”

8.5 x 5.75 x 5.75 in — 21.6 x 14.6 x 14.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Snow Goose Gallery, Ottawa, ON, 1975 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$1,000 — 1,500

LOT

VIEW LOT

201

AISA

QUPIRUALU ALASUA ᐊᐃᓴ (1916-2003), PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

MOTHER WITH CHILD IN AMAUTI, CA. 1955 stone, ivory, sinew; unsigned; disc number inscribed 8.5 x 10 x 7.5 in — 21.6 x 25.4 x 19.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 27 May 2019, lot 74

Private Collection, Toronto, ON $10,000 — 15,000

One of the early masters of Puvirnituq (Povungnituk) sculpture, Aisa Qupirualu Alasua (sometimes Kopeekolik) made his first stone carvings at the behest of James Houston, who visited the coastal camps around Puvirnituq in the spring of 1950.1 An exceptionally gifted artist, Qupirualu was generally recognized within his community as the most talented among his Puvirnituq peers: no mean feat considering his contemporaries Charlie Sivuarapik and Samisa Ivilla.2

Tightly composed and finely polished, Mother and Child in Amauti, from ca. 1955 is bristling with fine detail. Early Puvirnituq sculpture often incorporated components made from ivory or bone. The use of these contrasting materials was a necessity for artists, who wished to include fine detail in the unforgiving stone of the region. The visual effect of the contrast draws the eye to the essential features of the face, or the tools fundamental to survival. Mother and Child in Amauti, more than any other work by the artist, reveals Qupirualu’s mastery of this technique. The contrasting eyes, teeth, ulu and other essential implements give the portrait an undeniable intensity.

1 Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), 123.

2 Wight, Early Masters, 123.

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

202

PINNIE NUKTIALUK ᐱᓂ (1930-1969), INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

WOMAN MENDING KAMIK AND MAN FLENSING SEAL, CA. 1960 stone; unsigned; disc number inscribed; also inscribed with old inventory numbers “121” and “122” largest 6.25 x 3.5 x 4.5 in — 15.9 x 8.9 x 11.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

$700 — 900

Little information is readily available about the talented early Inukjuak (Port Harrison) artist Pinnie Nuktialuk. Works by Pinnie show many of the finer aspects which characterise works of her Inukjuak contemporaries such as Eli Weetaluktuk, and perhaps most notably Johnny Inukpuk, the latter of whose camp she was a member.1

The confidence and consistency of style in these two sculptures, Woman Mending Kamik and Man Flensing Seal speak to her talents, as do the restrained flashes on fine detail found in the tassel of the man’s hat and the braids of the woman’s hair. The two sculptures, no doubt conceived as a pair, have in all likelihood been together since the time of their manufacture. Similar in scale and bearing near identical inscriptions, they might easily be titled Division of Labour, giving equal weight, as they do, to the separate, but mutually necessary tasks that have so often been divided between partners.

1 Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), 83.

203

UNIDENTIFIED

ARTIST, INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON) OR PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

SEATED MAN, CA. 1950 stone; unsigned

3 x 2 x 1.5 in — 7.6 x 5.1 x 3.8 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Estate, Ontario

$200 — 400

VIEW LOT

CAMP OF AKEEAKTASHUK ᐊᑭᐊᑐᓱ (1898-1954), INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

HUNTER WITH CATCH, CA. 1950

stone, ivory, lye soap; unsigned

6 x 3 x 2.75 in — 15.2 x 7.6 x 7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Collection of former Northern Affairs Administrator Archibald Frederick Flucke By descent to the present Private Collection, Salmon Arm, BC

$1,000 — 1,500

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

205

JOHN PANGNARK ᔭᓐ ᐸᓇ (1920-1980), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

FIGURE, CA. 1968

stone; unsigned; inscribed “s-68”

6.5 x 5 x 3.5 in — 16.5 x 12.7 x 8.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Snow Goose Gallery, Ottawa, ON, 1974 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$8,000 — 12,000

The first documented sculptures by John Pangnark, while abstract, have readily identifiable anatomical elements, a characteristic that would recede in later works, subsumed by an increasing degree of abstraction and confidence in line and volume. The present sculpture made ca. 1968 is an uncommon example of his earlier period and shows a more developed figuration.

The two arms of the figure are readily identifiable, and stretch outward from the figure. The face is a whisper of finely-etched lines, and as elsewhere in Pangnark’s sculptures, the apparently closed eyes and mouth seem to betray a calm, delicate smile.

The present sculpture, exhibited in Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, at the Bayly Art Museum at the University of Virginia in 1994, is available for the first time since it was sold at Snow Goose Gallery in Ottawa, to the previous owner in 1974.

ANDY MIKI ᒥᑭ (1918-1983), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

BIRD, 1970

stone; signed in syllabics

3.25 x 9 x 3.75 in — 8.3 x 22.9 x 9.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

$3,000 — 4,000

VIEW LOT

207

LUCY TASSEOR TUTSWEETOK ᓗᓯ

(1934-2012), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

FAMILY, CA. 1972

stone; unsigned

6 x 8.25 x 4 in — 15.2 x 21 x 10.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

RELATED WORKS:

Norman Zepp, Pure Vision, The Keewatin Spirit (Regina: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery-University of Regina, 1986), 93, pl. 39.

$1,500 — 2,500

VIEW LOT

208

PAUTA SAILA ᐸᐅᑕ ᓯᓚ, RCA (1916-2009), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

OWL, CA. 1964

stone; signed in Roman

14.5 x 12 x 6.5 in — 36.8 x 30.5 x 16.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Snow Goose Gallery, Ottawa, ON, 1974

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994

$3,000 — 4,000

Pauta Saila only settled in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) later in life, when he was in his mid40s. He became involved with the Cape Dorset Co-op not long after, and his works were included in some of the earliest Cape Dorset Annual Print Collections. Though best known for his sculpture of bears, the owl was an important early motif for Pauta, one which he represented in both two- and three-dimensional works. One of his first contributions to the Cape Dorset release was a print of an owl published in 1962. Owl prints by Pauta were included in the Cape Dorset release every year subsequently until 1969.

It is easy to see the link between Pauta’s owls in print and this sculpture. A stonecut and an etching, both titled Owl and both made the same year as this sculpture, show similar aesthetic choices: the sturdy and wide-eyed bird perched on curled, almost spidery talons. It is as if the graphic images were carved into life in this sculpture.

Of interest to collectors will be the age of this sculpture, dating to the earliest years of Pauta’s celebrated career, before he became known for his Dancing Bears. The stone is also remarkable, wonderfully dense and almost matte, absorbing light more than reflecting it.

For another early sculpture by the artist, please see lot 156, an early example of a Dancing Bear, ca. 1965.

209

JOE TALIRUNILI ᔪᐅ ᑕᓚᕈᓂᓕ (1893-1976), PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

WALRUS, CA. 1970

stone; signed in Roman 3.25 x 3 x 1.5 in — 8.3 x 7.6 x 3.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON $700 — 900

VIEW LOT

210

MICHAEL TUTANNUAQ ᑐᑕᓄᐊ (B. 1908), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

HEAD, CA. 1975

stone, ivory; signed in syllabics; disc number inscribed

2.5 x 2 x 1.75 in — 6.4 x 5.1 x 4.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$200 — 300

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

211

GEORGE ARLUK ᐊᓗ (1949-2023), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

TWO FIGURES, CA. 1980

stone; signed in syllabics; also inscribed “582274”

4 x 3 x 2 in — 10.2 x 7.6 x 5.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

$100 — 200

VIEW LOT

212

JOHN KAVIK ᔭᓐ ᑲᕕ (1897-1993), KANGIQLINIQ (RANKIN INLET)

IGLOO, CA. 1975

ceramic; signed in syllabics; collector’s inventory tag affixed to underside reading “1109-1 D695”

height 4.25 in — 10.8 cm, diameter 3.5 in — 8.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC, 1986

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

$2,000 — 3,000

VIEW LOT

213

JOHN PANGNARK ᔭᓐ ᐸᓇ (1920-1980), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

FIGURE, CA. 1975

stone; signed in syllabics; inscribed “20832”

6 x 5.25 x 3 in — 15.2 x 13.3 x 7.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

$2,000 — 3,000

VIEW LOT

VIEW LOT

214

JOHNNY KAKUTUK (1946-2018), PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

TRANSFORMATION, 1968

stone; signed in Roman “JK”; inscribed “98450”

5.5 x 7 x 5.5 in — 14 x 17.8 x 14 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Pat Furneaux, Ontario Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 30 Apr 1979, lot 16 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA

EXHIBITED:

Povungnituk Imaginative Sculpture Competition, Puvirnituq (Povungnituk), QC, 1967. George Swinton, Eskimo Fantastic Art, Gallery 111, School of Art, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, 10-29 Jan 1972, The Student Union Art Gallery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, 6 Feb-3 Mar 1972, Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC, 11-28 Mar 1972.

LITERATURE:

George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd., 1972), 174, pl. 387.

$600 — 900

In 1967 an art competition was sponsored in Puvirnituq (Povungnituk) by Dr. Nelson H. H. Graburn as part of his research on contemporary artists and art activities. The idea was for local carvers to sculpt pieces of originality, thought and imagination, independent of potential commercial influences. The competition was judged by Nelson Graburn and Pat Furneaux. Entries were later organized by George Swinton into a traveling exhibition, the second installment in a series of influential traveling collections of Inuit art, the first of which was a solo exhibit dedicated to the sculpture of John Tiktak.

The present lot was one of a total of 80 works of sculpture and graphics exhibited from entries in the 1967 competition, and comes from the collection of Pat Furneaux, Northern affairs administrator in Puvirnituq, and co-judge of the 1967 competition.1

1 Waddington’s Auctioneers, An Important Sale of Inuit Art (Toronto: Francis Graphics, 1979), 7; George Swinton, Eskimo Fantastic Art (Winnipeg: Hignell Printing, 1972).

MATIUSIE IYAITUK ᒪᑎᐅᓱ

(B. 1950), IVUJIVIK (NUNAVIK)

WOMAN CARRYING SEALSKIN, CA. 1990 stone, antler; signed in syllabics; inscribed “woman carrying a bearded seal skin on a drying rack” 14 x 12.5 x 11 in — 35.6 x 31.8 x 27.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 13 Nov 2000, lot 420 Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$2,000 — 4,000

VIEW LOT

216

MANASIE AKPALIAPIK

(B. 1955), IKPIARJUK (ARCTIC BAY)

SHAMAN MAKING PEACE WITH SEDNA, 1995 stone, whalebone; signed in syllabics; dated; old label affixed to the underside of the base reading “Manasie Akpaliapik / Arctic Bay / Shaman making peace with Sedna / serpentine (stone)”

23 x 12 x 6 in — 58.4 x 30.5 x 15.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$5,000 — 7,000

There are many versions of the story of Sedna, and many names for the life-giving creature whose severed fingers became the bounty of the sea, and whose true name, it is said, it is unwise to speak.

In 1989 Manasie Akpaliapik embarked on a trip to Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay) to learn drum dancing, kayak making, and to collect stories told by community elders.1 In the years following, Manasie produced many of his best-known and most remarkable works. In the 1990s Manasie’s sculptural insights have, in the words of George Swinton, made “Manasie the contemporary Inuit artist par excellence.”2

In Shaman Making Peace with Sedna, Manasie depicts the placative act of the shaman in the aftermath of the sometimes vengeful, sometimes grieving father’s act of severing the clinging fingers of his daughter, who had been grasping the outside gunnel of their boat.

On one upper side of the sculpture is the father’s dispassionate face, on the lower portion of the other is the abandoned Sedna plunged into the sea. Without fingers, Sedna’s hair is tangled and knotted, and it is a shaman in the form of a comb who soothes the distraught Sedna by straightening her tangled hair. The form of the comb in Manasie’s sculpture references an ancient Dorset culture comb found in Maxwell Bay and in the collection of the Canadian Museum of History.3

The sculpture’s base is made from the Ikpiarjuk stone so often associated with the work of the artist’s grandmother Paniluk.

1 Claire Keating, Inuit Master Works By Manasie Akpaliapik, Claire Keating Authorised Representative, pamphlet, 1999.

2 George Swinton, "The Art of Manasie Akpaliapik: A Review Essay,” Inuit Art Quarterly. Spring 1991, vol. 6 no. 2. p. 42-45.

3 James Houston, "George Swinton and William E. Taylor Jr.," Sculpture/Inuit (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), 54.

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

217

JUDAS ULLULAQ ᔪᑕ ᐅᓗᓚ (1937-1999), UQSUQTUUQ (GJOA HAVEN)

HUNTER GRAPPLING WITH BEAR, CA. 1990 stone, antler, whalebone; signed in syllabics

11.75 x 19.75 x 13.5 in — 29.8 x 50.2 x 34.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$7,000 — 10,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

218

BARNABUS

ARNASUNGAAQ ᐸᓇᐸᓯ

(1924-2017), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

MUSK OX, CA. 1990

stone; unsigned

12 x 21 x 7 in — 30.5 x 53.3 x 17.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$8,000 — 12,000

VIEW LOT

219

DAVID RUBEN PIQTOUKUN

(B. 1950), PAULATUK

WORRY MASK, 1984

stone, hair; signed in Roman; dated

8.5 x 7.5 x 3.75 in — 21.6 x 19.1 x 9.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Gift from the artist to the present Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$800 — 1,200

JOHNNY INUKPUK ᔭᓂ ᐃᓄᐳ, RCA (1911-2007), INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

MOTHER AND CHILD, CA. 1990

stone; signed in syllabics

21.25 x 9.5 x 6.5 in — 54 x 24.1 x 16.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$8,000 — 12,000

VIEW LOT

221

KIUGAK (KIAWAK) ASHOONA ᑭᐊᒐ, OC, RCA (1933-2014), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

DRUM DANCER, CA. 1990

stone, antler; unsigned

22.75 x 15.5 x 14 in — 57.8 x 39.4 x 35.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$6,000 — 9,000

VIEW LOT

222

JOSEPH SHUQSLAK ᔪᓱᐱ ᓱᓴ (B. 1958), UQSUQTUUQ (GJOA HAVEN)

DRUM DANCER, CA. 1990

stone, musk ox horn, baleen, ivory, sealskin; unsigned

20 x 9.5 x 10 in — 50.8 x 24.1 x 25.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$2,000 — 3,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions. VIEW LOT

223

OSUITOK IPEELEE ᐅᓱᐃᑐ ᐃᐱᓕ, RCA (1923-2005), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

HUNTER, CA. 1990

stone, antler; signed in syllabics

11 x 5.5 x 2.5 in — 27.9 x 14 x 6.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$3,000 — 5,000

The best of Osuitok’s hunters are particularly expressive of the movement, and inherent weight of the hunter’s body. The present example, with its bent knees and tensed limbs is full of the compressed power of the hunter. Osuitok has chosen to depict the hunter with a broad horseshoeshaped mustache.

VIEW LOT

MADELEINE ISSERKUT KRINGAYARK ᐃᓯᑯ (1928-1984), NAUJAAT (REPULSE BAY)

MOTHER WITH CHILDREN, CA. 1975

stone; unsigned; disc number inscribed

7.25 x 4.25 x 4 in — 18.4 x 10.8 x 10.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON $400 — 600

VIEW LOT

225

JAMES ARCHIBALD HOUSTON, OC, FRSA (1921-2005), CANADIAN

PAUTA WITH CARVING, 1958 ink on paper; signed, titled and dated; also inscribed “Cape Dorset / West Baffin Island” sight 11.25 x 8.75 in — 28.6 x 22.2 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON $400 — 600

VIEW LOT

226

JAMES ARCHIBALD HOUSTON, OC, FRSA (1921-2005), CANADIAN

OSHAWEETOK (SIC) A., CA. 1955 drawing; signed and titled; also inscribed “W. Baffin carver” sheet 13.75 x 11 in — 34.9 x 27.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Estate, Ontario

$300 — 500

VIEW LOT

HENRY EVALUARDJUK ᐃᕙᓗᐊᔪ (1932-2007), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

HEAD, CA. 1990

stone; signed in Roman and syllabics

9.5 x 7 x 5.5 in — 24.1 x 17.8 x 14 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$3,000 — 5,000 VIEW LOT

228

POSSIBLY YVONNE KANAYUQ ARNAKYUINAK ᑲᓇᔪ (1920-1998), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

HEAD, 1970

stone, ivory; no visible signature; old collector’s inventory sticker indistinctly inscribed “Yvonne Kanayuk / E? / Baker Lake” without stand 3 x 2 x 1 in — 7.6 x 5.1 x 2.5 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$200 — 300

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

229

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

HEAD, CA. 1970

stone, caribou teeth; unsigned 6.75 x 4 x 3.5 in — 17.1 x 10.2 x 8.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$900 — 1,200

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

DAVIDIALUK ALASUA AMITTU ᑎᕕᑎᐊᓗ (1910-1976), PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

LEGEND OF THE HUNTER AND MERMAID, CA. 1960 stone; indistinctly signed in Roman and syllabics

6.25 x 16 x 7 in — 15.9 x 40.6 x 17.8 cm

PROVENANCE:

Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 1 May 1979, lot 215 Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$3,000 — 5,000

For many, Davidialuk Alasua Amittu is the preeminent Inuit storyteller in image and word. The fatal and the tragic, the mythical and the commonplace are recorded in his iconic images. The present sculpture tells the story of the hunter and the mermaid.

Speaking of the subject in the 1977 Marybelle Myers publication Davidialuk ᑎᕕᑎᐊᓗ 1977, the artist tells the story of a poor hunter who encounters a stranded woman who is half human and half fish. The hunter saves her by levering her back into the water and in return is gifted a record player, rifle, and sewing machine. Davidialuk cites this first gift as the origin of these mechanical contrivances.1

1 Marybelle Myers, Davidialuk ᑎᕕᑎᐊᓗ 1977 (Montreal: Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, 1977), unpaginated.

VIEW LOT

JUDAS ULLULAQ ᔪᑕ ᐅᓗᓚ (1937-1999), UQSUQTUUQ (GJOA HAVEN)

SPIRITS EMBRACE, CA. 1985

stone, ivory, sealskin; signed in syllabics

11.5 x 8.5 x 6.25 in — 29.2 x 21.6 x 15.9 cm

PROVENANCE:

Images Art Gallery, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$3,000 — 5,000

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions. VIEW LOT

LEVI,

NUNAVIK (ARCTIC QUEBEC)

WOMAN WITH ULU, CA. 1960

stone, ivory; unsigned

9.75 x 5.5 x 5.25 in — 24.8 x 14 x 13.3 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$1,500 — 2,500

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

PAUTA SAILA ᐸᐅᑕ ᓯᓚ, RCA (1916-2009), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

WOMAN WITH ULU, 1966

stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 50/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics sheet 21 x 29 in — 53.3 x 73.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$500 — 700

VIEW LOT

234

PARR ᐸ (1893-1969), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

WALRUS HUNT, 1964

stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 6/50; artist’s name in Roman sight 34.5 x 24 in — 87.6 x 61 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$1,000 — 1,500

VIEW LOT

OSUITOK IPEELEE ᐅᓱᐃᑐ ᐃᐱᓕ, RCA (1923-2005), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

MUSK OX, 1978

stone; signed in syllabics; accompanied by collector’s inventory photograph and notes

4.75 x 7.25 x 2.25 in — 12.1 x 18.4 x 5.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Connecticut, USA

$2,000 — 4,000 VIEW LOT

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

HUNTER, CA. 1950

stone, ivory, lye soap, wood; n o readily visible signature; affixed to wood base without stand 5.25 x 2.25 x 2 in — 13.3 x 5.7 x 5.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, British Columbia

$800 — 1,200

An enigmatic early Inukjuak figure dating circa 1950. For its rough-hewn detail, and character of face, it is evocative of some of the first sculptures made in Inukjuak. For a stylistically related figure on a grand scale, see Johnny Inukpuk’s first documented sculpture, Hunter, Cat. No. EC 82-603 from 1951 in the collection of the TD Bank Financial Group.

Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), 84.

Item may be subject to CITES restrictions.

VIEW LOT

SILAS AITTAUQ ᐄᑕᐅ (1933-2013), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

PIPE, CA. 1980

stone, wood, antler; indistinctly signed in syllabics; old collector’s inventory sticker inscribed “Silas Aitauq B. L. 1978”

4.5 x 8.75 x 2.5 in — 11.4 x 22.2 x 6.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$300 — 500

VIEW LOT

238

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, PUVIRNITUQ (POVUNGNITUK)

HUNTERS AND CARIBOU, CA. 1970

stone, sealskin, antler; unsigned

4.25 x 13 x 4.5 in — 10.8 x 33 x 11.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Connecticut, USA

$700 — 1,000

VIEW LOT

239

SEEPEE IPEELIE ᓯᐱ ᐃᐱᓕ (1940-2000), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

MUSK OX, 1983

stone, antler; signed in syllabics; dated 8.5 x 13.5 x 5.75 in — 21.6 x 34.3 x 14.6 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Ontario

$2,000 — 3,000

VIEW LOT

SEEPEE IPEELIE ᓯᐱ ᐃᐱᓕ (1940-2000), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)

MUSK OX, CA. 1975

stone, antler; signed in syllabics

7 x 12 x 4.5 in — 17.8 x 30.5 x 11.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$1,000 — 2,000

VIEW LOT

241

WILLIAM NOAH ᓄᐊ (B. 1943), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

CARIBOU SWIMMING IN SUNSET, 1975 stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 28/36; artist’s and printer’s names in Roman and syllabics; inscription verso sheet 24.75 x 38.75 in — 62.9 x 98.4 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Estate, Ontario

$400 — 600

VIEW LOT

242

NAPATCHIE POOTOOGOOK ᓇᐸᓯ

(1938-2002), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

MAN IN A KAYAK, 1961 stoncut; titled, dated and numbered 24/50; artist’s name in Roman; inscription verso sheet 15 x 20 in — 38.1 x 50.8 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Estate, Ontario

$1,000 — 1,500

VIEW LOT

243

WILLIAM NOAH ᓄᐊ (B. 1943), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

MUSK OXEN MIGRATING SOUTH, 1990

woodcut and stencil; titled, dated and numbered 27/50; artist’s and printer’s name in Roman and syllabics; inscription verso sheet 18.25 x 23.5 in — 46.4 x 59.7 cm

PROVENANCE:

The Upstairs Gallery, Winnipeg, MB, 2001 Private Estate, Ontario

$700 — 900

VIEW LOT

LUCY QINNUAYUAK

(1915-1982), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

DANCING OWL, 1972

lithograph; titled, dated and numbered 24/50; artist’s name in Roman sheet 15.5 x 12.75 in — 39.4 x 32.4 cm

PROVENANCE:

Galerie d’Art Vincent, Ottawa, ON, 1999

Private Estate, Ontario

$400 — 600

VIEW LOT

ELIJAH POOTOOGOOK ᐃᓚᐃᔭ (B. 1943), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

BIRD OF SPRING, 1966

stonecut and stencil; titled, dated and numbered 18/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics

sheet 24.5 x 33.75 in — 62.2 x 85.7 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Estate, Ontario

$600 — 900 VIEW LOT

246

LUCY QINNUAYUAK ᓗᓯ ᑭᓐᐅᐊᔪᐊ (1915-1982), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

STARTLED BIRD, 1970

stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 9/50; artist’s name in Roman sight 19 x 28 in — 48.3 x 71.1 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$1,000 — 1,500

VIEW LOT

SIMEONIE QUPPAPIK ᓯᒥᐅᓂ

(1909-1974), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

CARIBOU HEADS ON SNOW BLOCK, 1993

lithograph; titled, dated and numbered 38/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics

sheet 20.25 x 20.5 in — 51.4 x 52.1 cm

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$300 — 500

VIEW LOT

248

EGEVADLUQ RAGEE ᐃᔨᕙᓗ (1920-1983), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

TWO FACED SEA SPIRIT, 1960 stonecut; titled, dated and numbered 48/50; artist’s name in Roman sheet 10.75 x 15 in — 27.3 x 38.1 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, British Columbia

$900 — 1,200

VIEW LOT

EGEVADLUQ RAGEE ᐃᔨᕙᓗ (1920-1983), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

DOG OF FERTILITY, 1961 sealskin stencil; titled, dated and numbered 43/50; artist’s name in Roman sheet 12.5 x 23.75 in — 31.8 x 60.3 cm

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Toronto, ON

$1,500 — 2,500

VIEW LOT

1. Waddington's charges a buyer's premium of 25% on the hammer price up to and including $25,000 CAD. Hammer price in excess of $25,000 CAD will be charged a buyer's premium of 22%.

Bidders buying on the Invaluable site will be charged a Buyer's Premium of 28% on the hammer price up to and including $25,000 CAD Hammer prices in excess of $25,000 CAD will be charged at 25%.

2. Unless exempted by law, the buyer is required to pay Federal Good and Services Tax on the total purchase price including the buyer’s premium.

3. The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw any lot from sale at any time, to divide any lot or to combine any two or more lots at his sole discretion, all without notice.

4. The auctioneer has the right to refuse any bid and to advance the bidding at his absolute discretion. The auctioneer reserves the right not to accept and not to reject any bid. Without limitation, any bid which is not commensurate with the value of the article offered, or which is merely a nominal or fractional advance over the previous bid may not be recognized.

5. Each lot may be subject to an unpublished reserve which may be changed at any time by agreement between the auctioneer and the consignor. The auctioneer may bid, or direct an employee to bid, on behalf of the consignor as agreed between them. In addition, the auctioneer may accept and submit absentee and telephone bids, to be executed by an employee of the auctioneer, pursuant to the instructions of prospective purchasers not in attendance at the sale.

6 The highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer for any lot shall be the buyer and such buyer shall forthwith assume full risk and responsibility for the lot and must comply with such other Conditions of Sale as may be applicable. If any dispute should arise between bidders the auctioneer shall have the absolute discretion to designate the buyer or, at his option, to withdraw any disputed lot from

the sale, or to re-offer it at the same or a subsequent sale. The auctioneer’s decision in all cases shall be final.

7. Immediately after the purchase of a lot, the buyer shall pay or undertake to the satisfaction of the auctioneer with respect to payment of the whole or any part of the purchase price requested by the auctioneer, failing which the auctioneer in his sole discretion may cancel the sale, with or without re-offering the item for sale.

8. The buyer shall pay for all lots within 48 hours from the date of the sale, after which a late charge of 2% per month on the total invoice may be incurred or the auctioneer, in his sole discretion, may cancel the sale. The buyer shall not become the owner of the lot until paid for in full. Items must be removed within 10 days from the date of sale, after which storage charges may be incurred.

9. Each lot purchased, unless the sale is cancelled as above, shall be held by the auctioneer at his premises or at a public warehouse at the sole risk of the buyer until fully paid for and taken away.

10. All lots are sold “AS IS”. Any description issued by the auctioneer of an article to be sold is subject to variation to be posted online and/or announced via email prior to the time of sale. While the auctioneer has endeavored not to mislead in the description issued, and the utmost care is taken to ensure the correct cataloguing of each item, such descriptions are purely statements of opinion and are not intended to constitute a representation to the prospective purchasers and no warranty of the correctness of such description is made. Some lots are of an age and/ or nature which preclude their being in pristine condition and some catalogue descriptions make reference to damage and/or restoration. The lack of such a reference does not imply that a lot is free from defects nor does any reference to certain defects imply the absence of others. It is the responsibility of prospective purchasers to inspect or have inspected each lot upon which they wish to bid and to bid accordingly.

11. Payment for purchases must be by cash; interac direct debit (CDN client in person only); certified cheque (U.S. & Overseas not applicable); bank draft; E-Transfer; Wire Transfer (fee applies); visa or Mastercard (up to $25,000).

12. In the event of failure to pay for or remove articles within the aforementioned time limit, the auctioneer, without limitation of the rights of the consignor and the auctioneer against the buyer, may resell any of the articles affected, and in such case the original buyer shall be responsible to the auctioneer and the consignor for:

(a) any deficiency in price between the re-sale amount and the amount to have been paid by the original buyer

(b) any reasonable charge by the auctioneer for the storage of such articles until payment and removal by the subsequent buyer and

(c) the amount of commission which the auctioneer would have earned had payment been made in full by the original buyer.

13. It is the responsibility of the buyer to make all arrangements for insuring, packing and removing the property purchased and any assistance by the auctioneer or his servants, agents or contractors, in packing or removal shall be rendered as a courtesy and without any liability to them.

14. The auctioneer acts solely as agent for the consignor and makes no representation as to any attribute of, title to, or restriction affecting the articles consigned for sale. Without limitation, the buyer understands that any item bought may be affected by the provisions of the Cultural Property Export Act (Canada).

15. The auctioneer reserves the right to refuse admission to the sale or to refuse to recognize any or all bids from any particular person or persons at any auction.

All lots will be offered and sold subject to the Conditions of Sale which appear in this catalogue as well as any Glossary and posted or oral announcements. By bidding at auction, bidders are bound by those Conditions and Glossary, as amended by any announcements or posted notices, which together form the contract of sale between the successful bidder (buyer), Waddington’s™ (auctioneer) and the consignor (seller) of the lot. Description or photographs of lots are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the Conditions of Sale.

CONDITION OF LOTS

All of the items are to be considered, unless otherwise noted in the catalogue description or condition report, in good condition. The definition of “good” when used in reference to condition, describes an object as having had no major damage or repair but as with the nature of the material, may show minor surface wear, discolouration etc., which indicates the acceptable wear that the piece may acquire with age. If you are particular about minor flaws, you should have our staff answer any questions before bidding. Sizes are approximate. Frames on artwork are not included as part of purchase or condition. It is the sole responsibility of the bidder to inquire as to the condition of a lot before bidding. Condition reports are available upon request by phone, fax, email or in person. You are advised to make any requests well in advance of the sale.

BUYER’S PREMIUM

Waddington's charges a buyer's premium of 25% on the hammer price up to and including $25,000 CAD. Hammer price in excess of $25,000 CAD will be charged a buyer's premium of 22%.

Bidders buying on the Invaluable site will be charged a Buyer's Premium of 28% on the hammer price up to and including $25,000 CAD Hammer prices in excess of $25,000 CAD will be charged at 25%.

A charge of 13% HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is applicable on the hammer price and buyer’s premium except for any items directly shipped from our premises out of Canada. In the case where purchases are shipped out of the province of Ontario, the HST or GST is charged based on the tax status of that province.

PAYMENT

Payment for purchases must be by cash; interac direct debit (CDN clients in person only); certified cheque (U.S. & Overseas not applicable); bank draft; E-Transfer; Wire Transfer (fee applies); visa or Mastercard (up to $25,000).

all transactions are conducted in canadian dollars (cad)

SHIPPING

The auctioneers will not undertake packing or shipping. The purchaser must designate and arrange for the services of an independent shipper and be responsible for all shipping and insurance expenses. The auctioneers will, upon request, provide names of professional packers and shippers but will not be held responsible for the service or have any liability for providing this information. Reliable pre-auction estimates of shipping costs of lots offered in this sale may be obtained from:

PakShip

905-470-6874 / 416-293-8225

905-470-6875

taurus@pakship.ca / www.pakship.ca

Safer Shipping Inc.

416-299-3367 / 416-299-9750 perry@safershipping.ca www.safershipping.ca

REMOVAL OF PURCHASES

Purchases must be paid for within 48 hours of the date of the sale, and removed from premises within 10 days of the date of sale (see Conditions of Sale, conditions 8 to 15). Clients are advised that packing and/or handling of purchased lots by our employees or agents is undertaken solely as a courtesy for the convenience of clients.

CITES

Restrictions exist regarding the import and export of species protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). This includes but is not limited to items made of or containing bone (whalebone etc.), ivory, tortoise shell, seal skin, rhinoceros horn and any other animal part and is strictly controlled or forbidden by most countries. Please review your country’s laws before bidding on pieces made of or containing

these restricted items. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to inquire about and obtain the proper permits for artwork purchased that may contain restricted materials, if such permit can be obtained.

Please contact the department for further assistance. Failure to obtain necessary import/export permits will not void any sale..

For more information please visit: www.cites.org

INSURANCE

A 1% insurance charge, based on the hammer price of the property, will be applied to all accounts.

AUCTION ADVICE

For auction advice on paintings, drawings, prints, jewellery, and various forms of decorative arts and other collectibles, please contact us via email or telephone.

We are pleased to review emails containing photographs and information on your pieces in order to provide auction estimates for you to consider.

For collections with a variety of objects, please contact our Appraisals and Consignments department (consignments@waddingtons.ca).

For department-specific inquiries, please contact the specialist and/or department directly. All contact information can be found at www.waddingtons.ca.

With specialists located at our head office in Toronto as well as in Vancouver and Montreal, we are pleased to meet with prospective consignors across the country. For more information on consigning to our auctions, please contact us at consignments@waddingtons.ca.

Please note that property typically arrives at Waddington’s at least three months before the sale in order to allow our specialists time to research, catalogue, photograph and promote the items. Consignors will receive a contract to sign, setting forth terms and fees for our services.

MAY 24 - 29, 2024