Inuit Sculptures Page Two
Ootookie Ashoona - Dancing Bear
Ootookie Ashoona - Dancing Bear
CA$600.00
10.5×5×3.5”, Serpentine
Community: Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
Interesting Fact: Some artists create dancing bears that can be presented and enjoyed in different ways, such as this piece, which balances both on one foot (upright) & on a front and back paw (crouching). It takes a certain depth of carving knowledge of the stone, skill and experience to create such pieces.
In Inuit art, a Dancing Bear (Tuurnngait) usually is symbolic of a shaman transitioning between the human and spiritual worlds and the rebirth of a human spirit into a bear. The concept of the Dancing Bear originated in Cape Dorset (Kinngait), and a significant number of dancing bear carvings are created there.