Figure

Item number 1339/4 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Sculpture of a woman in a parka with a child in her lap and another in her hood. Clothing is sculpted in relief with incised decorations at hems; hair is in relief with incised decoration.

History Of Use

The Rankin Inlet Ceramics Project began after the North Rankin Nickel Mines, the first commercial mine to operate in the Canadian Arctic, closed in 1962. While the mine was known to have a small high-grade nickel deposit both the government and company hoped that new deposits would be discovered, providing long-term employment for the Inuit. The Ceramics Project was seen as a new way to maintain the community. The project introduced Inuit artists to clay, and the resulting hand-formed pots, vases and busts, in both glazed and unglazed forms, focused on themes of traditional life, hunting, animals and family. Inuit ceramics failed to capture the southern public’s interest, however. Prices for these pieces were high, and the perception of clay as a foreign medium for the Inuit may have played a role. Production of ceramic vessels had ceased by 1977, however in the early 1990s Inuit artists in Rankin Inlet began creating ceramics again.