I love the immediacy of this Inuit carving, which would fall in to the genre of a a transformation carving, portraying a spiritual metamorphosis of human into animal, or between various animals. Transformations are a frequent feature of traditional Inuit stories from the era of nomadic life on the land in the arctic, and appear regularly in Inuit sculpture. Here the transformation appears to be occurring from both sides, with a human face at the center, what looks a bit like the head of a snake emerging from his neck, though both animal heads really seem like they could be of any sort one might imagine. Wonderfully primitive in the manner of the carving, and as with my favorite Inuit pieces, full of movement and holding many things in balance at once.
4 7/8" l x 1 3/4" w x 7/8" t and in very good condition. Signed in syllabics with disc number and dated 1982 on the inside.
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