#85 • Fossilized Walrus Ivory & Baleen Totem - Lane A. Iyakitan

Part of February 2025 Discovery Auction (timed auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $25.00

Status: Sold

Category: Ethnographic Objects

A modern interpretation of a totemic spirit sculpture with a carved and incised fossilized walrus ivory shaman mask adorned with musk ox hair, a polar bear, two hands, an eagle head, and a walrus head. All are mounted in a vertical arrangement upon a tall rod, which is further inset into a fossilized chunk of ivory serving as the base. Although unsigned, it is most certainly in the style of the Yup'ik artist Lane A. Iyakitan (1929-2000) of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Measures approximately 3.5" x 1.75" x 8.5" tall.