JOSIAH NUILAALIK, INUIT, Female Shaman, c. 1998
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Description
JOSIAH NUILAALIK (1928-2005) Qamani’tuaq (BAKER LAKE)
Female Shaman, c. 1998
stone and antler, 12 x 5.25 x 4.5 in (30.5 x 13.3 x 11.4 cm)
signed, "á“„áƒá“šá“•".
Provenance
Marion Scott Gallery, 1999;
Acquired from the above by John and Joyce Price, Seattle.
Exhibitions
Vancouver, Marion Scott Gallery, Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake: Sculptures by Josiah Nuilaalik, Wallhangings by Irene Avaalaaqiaq, 27 Feb - 20 March 1999, cat. 31
Publications
Robert Kardosh, et. al., Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake: Sculptures by Josiah Nuilaalik, Wallhangings by Irene Avaalaaqiaq, (Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1999), cat. 31.
Josiah Nuilaalik was the son of Jessie Oonark and husband of the textile and graphic artist Ruth Qaulluaryuk (see previous Lot 68). Nuilaalik’s fantastical images of animal-shamans and transforming animal spirits lie somewhat outside the mainstream Baker Lake sculptural aesthetic. They might possibly be influenced by works he saw while living in Gjoa Haven in the late 1970s, but they surely also reflect the many stories his mother told him, and the images she created on paper and in cloth - images that Nuilaalik greatly admired.
Like the artist’s Shaman of 1996 (see First Arts, June 2022, Lot 134), Female Shaman is another masterpiece shown in Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake, a landmark exhibition for the artist in 1999. Female Shaman is carved with extraordinarily refinement and sensitivity. The lovely features of the shaman’s face are adorned with carefully incised tattoos; their lines and the woman’s eyes are infilled with resin or glue, and pigmented - something we have never seen before in Nuilaalik’s work. The subtle tilt of her head and her downward gaze lend Female Shaman a winsome, contemplative air. We almost forget that this elegant woman is a powerful transforming shaman. Absolutely stunning.
References: For a quite similar depiction of a male shaman by Nuilaalik, Robert Kardosh, et. al., Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake: Sculptures by Josiah Nuilaalik, Wallhangings by Irene Avaalaaqiaq,(Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1999), fig. 7. For other important works by the artist see Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2006), cats. 30, 77.
Female Shaman, c. 1998
stone and antler, 12 x 5.25 x 4.5 in (30.5 x 13.3 x 11.4 cm)
signed, "á“„áƒá“šá“•".
Provenance
Marion Scott Gallery, 1999;
Acquired from the above by John and Joyce Price, Seattle.
Exhibitions
Vancouver, Marion Scott Gallery, Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake: Sculptures by Josiah Nuilaalik, Wallhangings by Irene Avaalaaqiaq, 27 Feb - 20 March 1999, cat. 31
Publications
Robert Kardosh, et. al., Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake: Sculptures by Josiah Nuilaalik, Wallhangings by Irene Avaalaaqiaq, (Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1999), cat. 31.
Josiah Nuilaalik was the son of Jessie Oonark and husband of the textile and graphic artist Ruth Qaulluaryuk (see previous Lot 68). Nuilaalik’s fantastical images of animal-shamans and transforming animal spirits lie somewhat outside the mainstream Baker Lake sculptural aesthetic. They might possibly be influenced by works he saw while living in Gjoa Haven in the late 1970s, but they surely also reflect the many stories his mother told him, and the images she created on paper and in cloth - images that Nuilaalik greatly admired.
Like the artist’s Shaman of 1996 (see First Arts, June 2022, Lot 134), Female Shaman is another masterpiece shown in Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake, a landmark exhibition for the artist in 1999. Female Shaman is carved with extraordinarily refinement and sensitivity. The lovely features of the shaman’s face are adorned with carefully incised tattoos; their lines and the woman’s eyes are infilled with resin or glue, and pigmented - something we have never seen before in Nuilaalik’s work. The subtle tilt of her head and her downward gaze lend Female Shaman a winsome, contemplative air. We almost forget that this elegant woman is a powerful transforming shaman. Absolutely stunning.
References: For a quite similar depiction of a male shaman by Nuilaalik, Robert Kardosh, et. al., Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake: Sculptures by Josiah Nuilaalik, Wallhangings by Irene Avaalaaqiaq,(Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1999), fig. 7. For other important works by the artist see Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2006), cats. 30, 77.
Condition
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NOTE
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NOTE
Many countries prohibit or restrict importation or exportation of property containing ivory, whale bone, sealskin, and/or products derived from other endangered or protected species, and require special licenses or permits in order to import or export such property. It is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that the item is properly and lawfully exported / imported.
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JOSIAH NUILAALIK, INUIT, Female Shaman, c. 1998
Estimate CA$12,000 - CA$18,000
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