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Paul Bonard originally came from La Rochelle in France. He was hired by the
trading company, Revillon Frères, to go to Northern Quebec to establish new
trading posts there. In 1903, their vessel, the Eldorado, was shipwrecked
and Bonard and 51 other passengers had to make their way back to civilization in
two lifeboats and a sailboat.* After a harrowing journey, they arrived in
Montreal.**
According to his son, Bonard spent from 1904 until 1910 in Northern Quebec.
Judging by the style of the ivories, he spent some of that time at the trading
post in Fort Chimo. On his return to Montreal, Bonard married, and subsequently
died fighting in the First World War.
*L.F.S. Upton
1968 – "The Wreck of the Eldorado." Beaver Magazine, Autumn
1968,
pp. 27-31.
**Globe and Mail
"Strange Tale of Shipwreck." October 24, 1903, p. 9.
Arctic Life, 1904–1905
Ungava region, Nunavik
Ivory, black colouring
6.5 x 30.5 x 4 cm
CMC IV-B-1780
This work was acquired with the assistance of the Government of Canada
under the terms of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.
Collected by Revillon Frères trader Paul Bonard
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Anthropologist Frank Speck offers the hypothesis that these carved
walrus tusks grew out of a tradition of carvers completing all animals
on a tusk, and then breaking them up into individual figures. He
speculates that one buyer stopped the carver from breaking up the
tusk and thus a new tradition was born.*
*Speck, Frank
1927 – "Eskimo Carved Ivories from Northern Labrador."
Indian Notes,
vol.4, # 4, p. 311.
Arctic Animals, 1904–1910
Ungava region, Nunavik
Ivory, black colouring
6.5 x 30 x 3.2 cm
CMC IV-B-1775
Gift of André Bonard, Montreal, 1983
Collected by Revillon Frères trader Paul Bonard
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The collection of the major Arctic animals can be broken up into
three scenes: there is a bear on its haunches facing two seals; there
are three walrus, with two lying on the shore, while the head of the
third is shown emerging from the water; and there is another bear facing
a seal. The two scenes involving bears and seals can be interpreted as
hunting scenes. The polar bear relies on the seal as a major source of
food, as does the traditional Inuit hunter.
Scene of Traditional Life, 1904–1905
Ungava region, Nunavik
Ivory, black colouring
4.5 x 37.5 x 5.5 cm
CMC IV-B-1781
This work was acquired with the assistance of the Government of Canada
under the terms of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.
Collected by Revillon Frères trader Paul Bonard
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This extraordinary sculpture represents a brilliant adaptation of
the natural shape of the walrus tusk as carving material. Within the
intricate overall composition, several little scenes are hidden that
depict traditional Inuit life. There is the hunter in the kayak, going
after the seals resting on an ice floe. Another hunter is aiming his
rifle at a bear. After turning the piece around, one discovers another
scene in winter, with a dogsled pulled by a team of dogs.
Exhibition History:
In the Shadow of the Sun: Perspectives on Contemporary Native Art.
Museum am Ostwall fuer Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Dortmund, Germany,
December 9, 1988 – February 27, 1989; Canadian Museum of Civilization,
Hull, Quebec, June 29, 1989 – January 2, 1990; Art Gallery of Nova
Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 20 – June 24, 1990; Rijksmuseum
Voor Volkenkunde, Leiden, Netherlands, August 30 – October 18, 1991.
Exhibition catalogues in German and English.
References:
Canadian Museum of Civilization
1988 – Treasures. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of
Civilization and Scarborough: Old Bridge Press, ill. pp. 102-103.
Hoffman, Gerhard (ed.)
1988 – Im Schatten der Sonne: Zeitgenoessische Kunst der Indianer
und Eskimos in Kanada. Exhibition catalogue. Stuttgart: Edition Cantz,
no. 121, p. 443.
Grazing Caribou, 1904–1910
Ungava region, Nunavik
Ivory, black colouring
3 x 17 x 1.5 cm
CMC IV-B-1774
Gift of André Bonard, Montreal, 1983.
Collected by Revillon Frères trader Paul Bonard
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The scene of an adult caribou grazing with its young clearly has
one viewpoint, unlike the other pieces from Bonard's collection. The
three animals share the same environment and are connected to each
other. This piece is reminiscent of drawings collected by explorers
during the early part of the twentieth century.
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