Inuit Miniature Dog Sled with Figure and Seals huge whimsy 11" across including moving window

11" across including moving window

Viewed at eye level

I have seen images of orange canisters just like these topped with highly stylized pointy lids ending in exaggerated bulbous tips

I believe that it is likely Japanese

Inuit Miniature Dog Sled with Figure and Seals huge whimsy 11" across including moving windowBased on a few other Inuit carvings of dog sleds I have found in a similar manner, I think this one may come from the Nunavat region in Northern Canada, and would think likely dates to the mid 20th century or so, at a time when thousands of Inuit sled dogs (qimmiit) were killed in a government initiative to pressure Inuit people to abandon traditional subsistence hunting and ways of life. Also around this time (and in response), artist cooperatives