#64 • Colorful Attu Aleut Twined Basket by Sophie Pletnikoff

Part of June 2026 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $450.00

Status: Sold

Category: Ethnographic Objects

A finely woven Aleut twined rye grass basket and fitted lid in the traditional Attu style, attributed to noted weaver Sophie Pletnikoff and accompanied by handwritten notes identifying the basket as having been made in Unalaska in 1974. The cylindrical form displays exceptionally fine workmanship with openwork bands and colorful false embroidery throughout, including bold purple meander borders and repeating floral and geometric motifs rendered in red and green against the natural rye grass body. The slightly domed lid is surmounted by a matching coiled finial decorated with concentric bands of false embroidery. Attu-style baskets are celebrated for their intricate weaving and decorative embroidery, traditions preserved and revived by Aleut weavers after the wartime displacement of the Attu people. Sophie Pletnikoff was among the accomplished makers who carried forward these techniques, producing finely executed baskets prized by collectors for their precision and vibrant ornamentation. Measures approximately 2.75" in diameter x 4" tall.