JOHNNY INUKPUK, R.C.A. (1911-2007) INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)
STORY IN STONE, 1962
stone and ivory, 14 x 11 x 6.25 in (35.6 x 27.9 x 15.9 cm)
signed and inscribed with artist's disc number, "ᔭᓂ ᐃᓄᐸ / E9-904";
extensively inscribed by the artist.
This intriguing work by Johnny Inukpuk is the earliest of three known versions by the artist. The other two are dated 1978 and 1981 and, as such, could be considered “reprises” of this original, which was published in the Winter 1963 issue of The Beaver, the famous Canadian history magazine. The full text from The Beaver reads:
The man says: You have something in your mouth, which I have not been near enough to touch.
The bird says: It is a person’s thigh, because it is sweet and I like the smell of it. I like it even better when it is frozen.
The kneeling man is beseeching the bird to let him have the bone he has in his mouth. The bone is of a dead Eskimo [sic] who in his day was a great story teller. The man wants the bone to eat it so that he may be enriched with some of the dead man’s wisdom.
The words of the man and raven are carefully inscribed onto the shaft; the description is Inukpuk’s further explanation. This work probably references some aspect of shamanism: either initiation, in which the body of the shaman is “skeletonized” and reborn; or perhaps the death and “reincarnation” of a powerful shaman into the body of the new host. The raven may embody the dual roles of messenger and spirit helper. Fascinating.
References:
This work published in Reproduced in “Story in Stone” by “Johnny Innukpuk of Port Harrison” The Beaver, Winter 1963, pp. 30-31. This lot is accompanied by a copy of this publication. See online at: www.canadashistoryarchive.ca/canadas-history/the-beaver-winter-1963/flipbook/30/. For similar and related works by the artist see Harold Seidelman and James Turner, The Inuit Imagination, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1993) fig. 115 (also ill. in Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, Nov. 2015, Lot 190); and Sandra Dyck and Ingo Hessel, Sanattiaqsimajut, (Ottawa: Carleton University Art Gallery, 2009), cat. 110, p. 187.
JOHNNY INUKPUK, RCA (1911-2007) INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON) 'STORY IN STONE', 1962
Additional information
PROVENANCE
Hudson's Bay Company, Winnipeg, MB;
Acquired from the above by Western Hemisphere International Office of the Bank of Nova Scotia, Chicago, USA, accompanied by a facsimile copy of the letter of sale and letter of shipment, dated 8 July 1963 and 12 July 1963, respectively;
Acquired from the above by Mr. Hugh G. McGinn, accompanied by a facsimile copy of the letter of sale, dated 20 October 1972;
Estate of the above.PUBLICATIONS
Reproduced in “Story in Stone” by “Johnny Innukpuk of Port Harrison” The Beaver, Winter 1963, pp. 30-31. This lot is accompanied by a copy of this publication.
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