Traditionally, Inuit art has been separated into three distinct categories; pre-historic, historic, and modern. Artifacts from the prehistoric period, pre-1750, were made for personal use and feature spiritual, hunting, or shamanic associations. The historic period - circa 1750-1950 - shows the influence of contact and trade with Europeans. Modern Inuit art, c. 1949 - present - is well documented beginning with the first exhibition of Inuit art in Montreal at the Canadian Guild of Crafts (now La Guilde) in Montreal.
The landmark Guild exhibition in Montreal met with great success and sparked an explosion of creativity and production in the North. In just a few short years, government initiatives and a fledgling co-operative movement led to a bustling arts and crafts industry in the North and Inuit art could be found in art galleries and stores across Canada. This success spread beyond Canada as knowledge of, and interest in, Inuit art increased across the United States and Europe. While interest has waned in recent years, modern Inuit art is still omnipresent.
Prehistoric Inuit artworks are well represented in museum collections and modern pieces feature prominently in museum, private, and corporate collections. Works from the historic period however are exceedingly rare. Historic period trading was limited to seasonal visits from traders, whalers and missionaries. Much of the traded material was scattered across the globe as seasonal visitors returned to Britain, Scotland and America. Subsequently, many of these historic period works have been lost to time due to their inherent fragility or lack of interest to the descendants of the original owners. Importantly, precious few historic works exist in museum collections and fewer still appear on the market for sale.
This stunning exhibition of historic miniatures is truly a once in a lifetime event. It would likely take decades to assemble this many works and sourcing works of this calibre might prove near impossible. While unsigned, many of the works appear to be by the same hand. Indeed, there are striking similarities with known works in museum collections prompting questions as to how many, or perhaps how few, artists were active in Nunatsiavut. Perhaps one day scholars will be able to identify the artists through the journals and diaries of early travellers.
Each the of human figures is staggeringly beautiful. Delicately carved and copiously decorated with polychrome pigments, they document an evolution in Inuit fashion. The female figures are depicted in traditional dress whereas several of the men are wearing mariner's caps. The smallest of the figures, barely an inch and a quarter tall, depicts a male in full southern dress and represents either a young boy or a visiting sailor. The animals are equally exceptional with some no larger than one's fingertips. Indeed, many of the outstretched wings or tails are measured in mere millimetres! That they have survived a century and a half unscathed is nothing short of miraculous.
It is a rare honour to present this exceptional group of miniature ivories of truly national importance. Since they predate the enactment of both CITES and the MMPA, they can theoretically be exported with the required CITES permits. However, given their cultural importance and the difficulties in obtaining the required permits, we would highly recommend that these pieces remain in Canada.