Early Grenfell Mission Carved Wooden Eskimo Doll

Regular price $80.00

This wonderful carved wooden doll would once have been clothed in fur and leather, I believe likely with stuffed cloth legs and booted feet as well, but those clothes are long gone and I personally love it bare where all attention turns to the carved and painted/drawn face. Quite a rare thing, it comes from Grenfell Mission in Labrador,  a philanthropic organization founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell in 1892 as a branch of The Royal National Mission, which provided medical and social services to people in rural communities of northern Newfoundland and Labrador. My guess is that this piece dates to not very long after the founding of the Mission, which promoted and sold artwork by native artists of the region.

The carving does not quite stand up on its own, but there is an old nail on the back, which I believe held clothes on, that works perfectly holding it to a magnet if one wanted to mount it to the wall. Or just lean it lightly against something. The face is detailed with pencil and what I believe is a natural black dye/ink. Good condition with a little dryness to the wood (most visible as a horizontal line at the neck); this is not a crack/split,  just surface roughness. 6 1/4" t x 2" wide x 1 3/8" d.