This I think is my favorite Inuit piece I've had in my possession--bold, sensitive, a little awkward, mystical feeling, intense and very human. I'm drawn to Inuit pieces that hold multiple gestures or states of being in balance, and this Janus faced piece is literally double-sided, with a skeletal shaped head with outlined eyes inverse to a smiling, contented looking one with horizontal slits across the eyes (resting? wearing snow goggles? all seeing?) both framed in great arches of carved stone that suggest both the hood of a parka and a sort of spiritual aura. Carved with a great sense of immediacy from radiant green soapstone, it has quite a presence.
5 1/8" t x 4 3/8" w x 3" deep, which doesn't quite convey how substantial if feels, and weighs abut 3 pounds. Signed with syllabics on the underside, I believe likely c. 1960s-1970s or so. Very good condition, with plenty of irregularities indigenous to the stone and carving but no notable chips, cracks or other flaws.
