Artist

Date

Materials

Description

Two aluminum figurines of a beaver and a bear. Both figurines have a very smooth and shiny surface devoid of any details. The only identifiable features of the figurines are the head, body, and tail (in the case of the beaver). Overall, the figurines have a very minimalist look, and despite lacking detail are identifiable based on the proportions of their bodies. The beaver has a more rounded look compared to the bear, with a small ellipsoidal head that slopes into a larger round body. The tail is the most distinctive part, with the flat paddle-shape characteristic of beavers.The bottoms of both figurines are engraved with cursive writing and numbers. 

In 1967, Gord and Carl Hoselton established Hoselton with the goal of taking life experiences and crafting them into tangible items. While they started with pieces of white marble from a quarry near Peterborough, Ontario, they soon turned to using old pieces of scrap metal to make their sculptures. Even today, each sculpture is made by hand from a unique mold then put through multiple processes of sanding and polishing before it is deemed perfect. This particular sculpture is one of many kinds of beaver sculptures available from Hoselton, and can be found in the Hoselton catalogue marked as #1202.

Diefenbaker likely got these sculptures sometime between the creation of the company in 1967 and his death in 1979.

Marks/Labels

"Hoselton

Canada

1202" on base of beaver figurine.

“80.5.582a” written in black pen on the base.

Category