Joanassie Oomayoualook Soapstone Carving

Updated August 8, 2026

Hunter - black serpentine (soapstone), signed with disc number E9-1749 A Canadian Inuit black serpentine carving by Joanassie Oomayoualook (Inukjuak, Nunavik), depicting a kneeling hunter in a hooded parka holding a freshly caught seal. Executed in polished dark stone with simplified, rounded forms and expressive facial features, the composition exemplifies the strong sculptural style associated with the Inukjuak carving tradition. The underside is incised with the artist's government-issued disc number E9-1749, together with additional faint inscriptions. Height: approximately 6½ in. (16.5 cm) Artist Biography Joanassie Oomayoualook (born 1934) is an Inuit sculptor from Inukjuak (formerly Port Harrison), Nunavik, Quebec. Identified by the government-issued disc number E9-1749, he belongs to the first generation of Inuit artists whose work gained international recognition during the expansion of the Canadian Inuit art market in the 1950s and 1960s. His carvings typically depict traditional Inuit life—including hunters, fishermen, family groups, and Arctic wildlife—in a direct, expressive style emphasizing rounded volumes and quiet narrative. Oomayoualook's work has been exhibited widely and is represented in numerous institutional collections, including the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario (Klamer Family Collection), Canadian Museum of History, Musée de la civilisation, Avataq Cultural Institute, and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, among others. Disc-numbered Inuit sculptures occupy an important place in the history of Canadian Indigenous art. Prior to the widespread adoption of surnames, many Inuit artists signed their works using government-issued identification disc numbers, making these carvings significant records of the formative years of the modern Inuit art movement.

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