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Inuit
Art Native American Art Gallery Newsletter
September 2009 Issue
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September
2009
We
all know that polar bears have sharp teeth. But isn't it
interesting that for some reason, the vast majority of polar bear
sculptures by Inuit carvers actually do not show any teeth. This
is
true across all types of polar bears whether they are carved in classic
walking positions or the more dramatic dancing or even handstanding
stances. Of course, for the dancing bears, the
carvers usually
want the bears depicted with smiles showing how happy they are so we
would definitely not see any menacing teeth on these bears.
Polar
bear sculptures with teeth are therefore quite rare compared to what is
available out there in the Inuit art market. Having said that,
Free Spirit Gallery just happens to have one such polar bear carving by
Johnnylee Akpalialuk of Pangnirtung and it's a beauty. This is
the only polar bear with teeth showing that we have and we don't
predict that we will be getting any others like that anytime soon since
Inuit carvers just don't produce bears with teeth all that much.
Take a look at further details of this polar bear with teeth.
If you always wanted to acquire an Inuit polar bear sculpture with teeth, this represents a RARE opportunity to do so.
Another
rare area of Inuit art is basketry. Although basketry is quite
common among many Native American and First Nations Canadian groups,
it's a rare art form among the Inuit simply because of the
unavailability of materials for making baskets in the far north.
There
is an area in Arctic Quebec (Nunavik) where native sea lyme grass grows
seasonally and some of the women up there have used this to make their
versions of baskets. We were lucky enough to bring in two such
baskets to our gallery.
Details are at Inuit Baskets.
For native basket collectors, a rare Inuit made basket would certainly be a worthy addition to a collection.Until next month,
Clint
Free Spirit Gallery
Inuit
and Native Art Bulletin
