This is a wonderful transformation ivory figure carved by an Inuit artist from an exhibition of Inuit Art in Winnipeg some years ago. This marvelous piece puts together elements of the indigenous and western artistic traditions to produce great art. In the oral tradition of the Inuit, stories of transformation have always been among the most compelling. In the 1920's the subjects of these epic tales were brought to life, for outsiders through drawings that ethnographer Knute Rasmussen coaxed from reluctant narrators in Canada's Kitikmeot region. With encouragement from southerners working with the Inuit after World War II, there came an outpouring of sculpture that depicted an array of subject matter. Works under the title of Transfigurations included a multitude of shamans working their transformative powers. The Inuit are one of the few people who can legally use walrus ivory. They collect this ivory from the walruses that they hunt for food, and from it make beautiful carvings prized by collectors. Other materials sometimes incorporated into the carvings are whale baleen, fossilized ivory, fossilized sea cow rib, and moose bone. However, export of these ivory artworks is usually forbidden, hence soapstone, marble and other stone pieces are more common. Thank you for your kind comments.