A sculpture by an unknown artist showing the legend of The Weasel and the Caribou sold for $69,000 on Tuesday evening at Waddington's auction of Inuit art.

A Kivalliq soapstone sold for $69,000, although the artist is unknown. 'The value is in the piece itself,' says Duncan McLean of Waddington's.
(Waddington's)

It was the highest price in two days of sales of Inuit art at the Toronto auction house.

"We don't know who did it, though we know it is from the mid-'50s and we have opinions about where it comes from," said Duncan McLean, an expert in Inuit art at Waddington's.

"The  value is in the piece itself, not just in the artist," he said in an interview with CBC.ca.

The 11-centimetre carving tells the story of how the wily weasel can kill the much larger caribou by entering through the anus and attacking from the inside.

A group of Inuit artists is drawing attention from collectors, he said.

Early works by the great Cape Dorset artists and sculptures from the Keewatin region fetched good prices at auction.

Two Arviat figures by Keewatin artist John Pangnark sold for $24,000 and $28,800. Sculpture by iconic Spence Bay sculptor Karoo Ashevak, who lived 1940-1974, fetched prices up to $43,200.

Buyers also were drawn to works by Baker Lake's Jessie Oonark, paying $16,800 for an untitled embroidery and $8,500 for the print, Tattooed Faces.

The 1960 print Birds from the Sea by Cape Dorset artist Kenojuak Ashevak sold for $10,200.
(Waddington's)

McLean characterized the market for Inuit art as "vibrant" and "exciting," with buyers from Canada and overseas.

Many collectors have recently become interested in Inuit art and some are broadening their interest from other Canadian art to include Inuit works.
"People are discovering this is wonderful art with wonderful stories," he said.

"Compared to the 1980s, when $4,000 to $5,000 was a good price, now we're seeing $25,000 and up, which is amazing," he said.