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Elijassiapik, Sarah
Doll Poupée
c. 1975 v. 1975

Sarah Elijiassiapik came from a family of artists in Inukjuak, northern Québec. Her father, Elijassiapik, was a known carver and many of her siblings, most notably Eli and Simeonie Elijassiapik were also artists. Little is known about her art beyond the fact that she worked in multiple media. This is an example of a souvenir doll made for the art market; it is unlike earlier dolls which were made by young girls as sewing projects and play objects. It has a stone head and sewn leather and fur clothing. Dolls of this construction often had heads carved by one artists and bodies sewn by another and it is obviously not meant to be played with due to the fact that it is mounted on a small woven matt, thereby rendering it into a tabletop item. In fact, play dolls died out mid-century around the time of settlement for many families. Since that time, dolls are made almost exclusively for sale. This doll demonstrates one of the key characteristics of Inuit collector’s dolls, that is they wear clothes that are representative of traditional garments and reflect the styles of the region from which they are produced.

Elijassiapik, Sarah
Inukjuak QC 1941 Inukjuak QC 1941
Doll Poupée
c. 1975 v. 1975
Soapstone, seal fur, leather, grass Stéatite, fourrure de phoque, cuir et herbe
28.1 x 15.2 x 10.2 cm
Gift of Guardian Capital Group Limited, 2020 Don du Groupe Guardian Capital Limited, 2020
63-015.11

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