Featured Is this an eskimo carving? material?

Very small mother (or parent) and child image. I do not see any signature.

 

Stone looks wrong for Inuit

 

Looks like a seal and not a child.

 

That makes it a little more special, being a seal. I was thinking the parka was over the head of the child.

 

Here are a few comparable items.
For style and material...
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/walrus-carving-soapstone-alabaster-476884748
For symbolic theme...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/724832...skimo+carving&ref=sr_gallery-5-33&pro=1&frs=1
https://www.etsy.com/listing/912434...arch_query=eskimo+carving&ref=sr_gallery-1-15
For possible style of coat...
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/joyful-stone-carving-siberian-yupik-1819156415

James

 

I feel like I've seen some in this stone / style that were Russian Inuit. I had one once that had a Soviet sticker and a number that referred to Siberian pieces. This one looks kinda rough-hewn, but the pattern and stone looks similar.

 

Looks like soapstone, check with your fingernail on the bottom and see if it is soft.

 

Looks to me like it's meant to be a person.

 

Looks like a mother and child to me. Sweet.

 

Looks like an eskimo with a baby seal to me.

 

hunter holding a seal pup, in a storm.......hand raised against the wind blowing from the left....flapping his garment....... not canadian inuit.

@Mark London

 

I don't see any mark when I press hard with my thumbnail.

 

Pressing would not do anything,if it's soapstone you can scratch it with the edge of your fingernail.

 

It doesn't scratch. What possible stone could it be made from?

 

The appearance is much like a type of marble; but hard to say. It doesn't look to me like the types of stone usually used by Eskimo or Inuit carvers, but stone can be quite variable. I do see it as a hunter with seal pup under his arm.
@Mark London ?

 

Art is subjective and an abstracted figure is more so. This is how I interpret the image.

I think the artist used the darker stone as part of the seal's shape. The white lines are carved. The red is interrupted shape. The seal sits upon a block of snow in blue.

 

It looks like a Siberian piece of an Inuk and dog. This one looks unfinished.

 

Many possible stones, just not any of the stones that are softer than your fingernail...

There are many others than are included on this chart, but as you can see calcite and gypsum are softer than fingernails - I think "soapstone" is a catch all term for some types of calcite/gypsum based rocks/minerals.

 

Roaring20s-- that drawing is amazing! Great eye!!

 

As I was saying...