Lot #61: Inuit Carving Samwillie Niviaxie Soapstone Ptarmigan Inukjuak Art

Signed Samwillie in Syllabics on the bottom with the disc number 730 visible. Has chips to beak and tail. Still very charming! Could be sanded down and fixed. 3 1/2" across by 3 1/2" high. Samwillie Niviaxie was born in 1923 in Inukjuak (formerly Port Harrison) Northern Quebec. His father Conlucy was a carver of bone and ivory, and several of his siblings were carvers. Samwillie Niviaxie's work has been exhibited throughout Canada, and can be found in the permanent collections of Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), Remai Modern (Saskatoon), McMaster University Art Gallery (Hamilton) and Art Gallery of York University (Toronto). Samwillie Niviaxie died in 1997, in Inukjuak. Pickup category timeslot {A}