This listing is for a wonderful vintage Inuit Soapstone Carving. It was purchased new by the seller in the 1970s, and still has the original tag. The carving was made by Ashevak Kudluarluk in the hamlet of Pangnirtung on Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. The sculpture is of a man, and measures about 4.5" inches tall and 4" inches wide. It is in very good condition with some light scuffs and scratches. Please see the detailed photos below and contact us with any questions before bidding. Don't miss your chance to add this rare piece to your collection!
Pangnirtung means "the place of the bull caribou" in Inuktitut. It is located on a narrow coastal plain against a spectacular backdrop of high mountains and a winding river valley, and is surrounded by spectacular fiords.
Legend has it, that a hunter named Atagooyuk gave the place its name well over 100 years ago, when caribou had not yet changed their patterns as a result of the incursions of man.
The last few decades, though filled with promise, have been fraught with difficulties for the people of Pangnirtung. This was a seal-hunting community, and when sealskin prices declined sharply in the 1970s and 1980s, hunting became uneconomical. With substantial government assistance, the community currently operates a turbot fishery.
The government has also encouraged the development of arts and crafts, including a unique weaving industry, art prints and clothing items. Pangnirtung sculpture, like that of Iqaluit, exhibits a certain heroic realism in its animal and human subjects. Stone is the most widely used material, but whalebone is also popular. Many artists from this community enjoy working on a large scale in their portrayals of dramatic and emotionally charged shamanic or mythological images.
Art from Qikiqtarjuaq (formerly Broughton Island) is similar to that of Pangnirtung, as a result of families moving back and forth between the two communities. Sculptors utilize whalebone, light green, and occasionally, dark green to black stones.
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