Dorset Sculpture
Tradition:
Sculpture of the Inuit is descended from the ancient craft of carving, honed for generations on the land. Most objects traditionally made were useful in very specific ways. A nomadic people could take little else with them besides the tools of the of their daily living.
In recent decades, Inuit have turned these skills to producing larger works whose austere beauty has astonished the art world.
Materials:
A variety of raw materials are used when carving. Some carvers combine different media of stone, whalebone, ivory and muskox horn/ Preference over one medium over another often depends on the availability of the raw material in the community.
Most Inuit carvings are made of serpentinite, a light to dark green or black rocks that is very hard, and takes a good to excellent polish. Other stone found in the Arctic and used in carvings are silstone, argillite, dolomite, quartz and marble.
