Inuksuk Sculpture
date: label: Accession Date
content: 10 Nov 2022
name: label: Donor Name
content: Abraham A. Ruben
notes: label: Notes
content: Soapstone sculpture, "Inuksuk" by Inuit artist Abraham Anghik Ruben, made in spring of 2017. Inuksuit (plural of Inuksuk; meaning "in the likeness of a person") are rough stone compositions, used as landmarks across Inuit territories in the Canadian Arctic. They have become a prominent symbol of Inuit culture. This modern, more elaborate interpretation includes figures of Arctic animals, people, spirit figures, and a narwhal. It is made of Brazilian soapstone and alabaster. It was carved at the artist's home in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, but is based on traditions from his homeland in the western Canadian Arctic. This artwork was created for the exhibition “Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend", on display at the National Museum of Natural History from August 2017 -- January 2020. The exhibit label described it: "The sculpture's bottom two tiers represent sea ice, while narwhals, seals, walruses, polar bears, and other Arctic sea animals are carved into the pillars. The top horizontal section features humans, Inuit spirits, mythical beings, and creatures of the land." See exhibit catalog "Narwhal : Revealing an Arctic Legend" by William W. Fitzhugh and Martin Nweeia, 2017, IPI Press. Hanover, New Hampshire. P. 176, fig. 12.1
label: Record Last Modified
content: 16 Jul 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Salt Spring Island, Arctic / British Columbia, Canada, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Inuit, Inuvialuk (Inuvialuit)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2088150
label: USNM Number
content: E437033-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Sculpture