Qulik
$7,500.00 CAD
Artist Koomuatuk (Kuzy) Curley
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Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
Stone, Antler
8” x 15” x 7.5”
The qulik has been the heat source for the Inuit for hundreds of years. For this artwork Kuzy studied historical examples of qulliich and initially carved it on its own. He asked his grandmother how he would be able to make the qulik more traditional and she suggested that he float it upon a base as that was how they would be used, so as not to burn oneself or melt snow beneath.
Qulliich need to be tended continually by trimming the cottongrass wick in such a way as to prevent the lamp from creating smoke. They were essential to survival in the Arctic and would need to be kept alight while hunters were away from camp so that there would be warmth once they returned from the cold. The antler stick would be used to drip fat onto the qulik to keep the wick burning.