Exquisite Antique Wood and Hide Inuit Doll, 14 Inches mother dog and puppies I know from the seller

I know from the seller in Virginia I purchased this from that it came from the personal collection of a senior curator at the Smithsonian who died about 15 years ago

and I've come to really love the effect

The board itself is gorgeously painterly green gouache or watercolor on cream paper or board

or sometimes "persuader"--likely dates to the early 19th century

with stains and scuffs and alligatoring paint

Exquisite Antique Wood and Hide Inuit Doll, 14 Inches mother dog and puppies I know from the sellerOne of the most beautiful Inuit dolls I've ever seen or dolls, period and quite an old one, late 19th c. Greenland Inuit I think, and, I believe, what would be considered a "collector's doll" made by a skilled doll maker for sale. Such a wonderfully carved, sensitively detailed face, with head that will turn side to side; body sewn of seal skin and, it appears to me, stuffed with what looks to be white fur, I believe seal as well. Perhaps he once wore