Q My father was a pediatrician in Ottawa and I believe this was given to him in the 1930s or early '40s by a patient ndash; an RCMP officer who had served in the Arctic. It's a small, unsigned Eskimo carving that's 14 centimetres tall and 7.5 centimetres wide.
I would be very interested in having your opinion and estimate of its value.
A Inuit work is fascinating and I'm always trying to learn more about it. It's a tricky area, though, so I contacted Christa Ouimet, Inuit Art Specialist at Waddington's in Toronto.
Right off the bat, she told me this is exactly the sort of piece sought after by knowledgeable collectors these days. The commercial marketing of Inuit art began in 1949/1950 and this piece probably dates to the early 1950s, according to Ouimet. This mother and child carving, which is a common subject in Inuit art, appears to be from the Kivalliq region (formerly known as Keewatin).
The type of stone there is very hard and doesn't allow for highly polished surfaces or great detail so the carving style is simple. The fact the piece is unsigned might be considered detrimental in other art forms, but not necessarily with Inuit art.
Ouimet says even though the Inuit market is currently very name-driven, the quality and rarity of this piece outweighs the fact it's anonymous.
The auction estimate for your carving is roughly $750.
Q These brasses decorated the leather harnesses on teams of horses that once belonged to a large Toronto company during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The horses were handsome and well turned out.
The brasses, which range from 7.5 to 10 centimetres in diameter, were given to me by a family member.
Among the collection is one commemorating Queen Victoria's Record Reign from 1837 to 1897 and another commemorating Jumbo the Elephant.
I'm wondering what brasses are worth these days.
A You're quite right about the age of these. Your brasses date from roughly 1880 to 1920.
Horse brasses in general, however, have their roots in Roman times, when horse harnesses were embellished with highly polished bronze amulets, whose sparkling surfaces were thought to ward off evil spirits.
The value of brasses varies, depending on their age and design. Types of the vintage you have that feature dogs or horses are worth about $70 apiece.
Any with historical content, such as the one featuring Queen Victoria, are worth in the $150 range and badges of merit can go even higher.
Newer and cheaper stamped-out versions made after 1920 are readily available these days and not worth much, but that's not what you have.
The most valuable brass in your collection is probably the Jumbo.
As you may already know, Jumbo was a circus elephant promoted by his owners Barnum Bailey as the world's largest elephant.
Tragically, Jumbo was killed by a train in St. Thomas, Ont.
on Sept. 15, 1885. Your Jumbo brass is quite rare and could be worth as much as $500.
Q We bought this Quebec primitive wool-winder about 40 years ago from a dealer just outside Quebec City.
It's made of hardwood, possibly maple, and most of the parts are cut from natural tree forks and hand carved. The piece is about 86 centimetres tall.
We believe it could date back to the 1830s.
We'd really like to know more about it and also what it's worth.
A What you've got here is a homemade spinning wheel, not a wool winder.
A wool winder looks quite different and is designed to measure a specified amount of finished yarn.
This crude spinning wheel is intended to make yarn from raw wool ndash; which is what all spinning wheels do. (In the 1800s, a woman who could spin wool was considered a good catch by a prospective husband, such was the value of this skill at the time.
)
From what I can tell, some enterprising person put this spinning wheel together in the mid 1800s, possibly using an old tabletop for the wheel. This is an unusual piece and, in my opinion, has a primitive charm the more commercial, finely made versions often lack.
Spinning wheels are not really hot sellers these days, but I think yours might fetch $250.
A picture with last Saturday's So, What's it Worth? column showed scrimshaw on a walrus tusk, not on a whale tooth as the description under the photograph mistakenly said. The Star regrets the error.
John Sewell is an antique and fine art appraiser. To submit an item to his column, go to the Contact John ' page at . Please measure your piece, say when and how you got it, what you paid and list any identifying marks.
A high-resolution JPEG photo must also be included. Appraisal values are estimates only.
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