#66 • Massive Inupiaq Baleen Basket - Marilyn Hank Otton

Part of September 2025 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $4,600.00

Status: Sold

Category: Ethnographic Objects

The traditional art form of Inupiaq basket weaving is shown here in this exceptional baleen basket specimen with finely crafted weaving. This generously sized, museum-quality basket has a gently domed lid, topped with a walrus tusk finial in the shape of a polar bear's head. The starter base tusk disk is signed by Inupiaq artist Marilyn Hank Otton (1947-2021) of Point Hope, Alaska. The Alaskan Native art of basket weaving is kept alive by very few people, mostly men, and produced in only a few cities and villages across Alaska, such as Barrow, Point Hope, Kivalina, and Kotzebue. Marilyn Hanks' family is part of those master weavers, and she was taught the skill at the hands of her parents, Carl and Eunice Hank. This beautiful example of the art form measures approximately 11" in diameter x 7.5" tall, representing the largest baleen basket we have offered to date.