Baleen basketry

A coiling method is used to sew baleen bands together, ending with a carved ivory knob on the handle.

[1] Most baleen baskets are made by men for sale to tourists, but over time distinctive styles have developed, and since the 1970s more women have become involved in what was originally a predominantly male occupation.

The exact date is still in doubt, but the preponderance of available evidence suggests the event took place sometime between 1914 and 1918, after whaling ended and before the intensification of the North American fur trade.

[4] Kinguktuk (1871–1941, also spelled Kiŋaqtaq in Iñupiaq; and his wife: Qusraaq) is recognized as the first baleen basketmaker with his first pieces made between 1914 and 1918 in Utqiagvik.

[5] Kinguktuk's early baskets were woven in the single-rod coiling of their willow-root prototypes, and already had starter pieces, the perforated ivory discs used to attach beginning stitches, at the center of their lids and bases.

Inupiat baleen basket, with an ivory handle ( finial ), made by Kinguktuk (Kiŋaqtaq 1871–1941) of Utqiagvik, Alaska . Displayed at the Museum of Man , San Diego , California .
Inupiat baleen basket, with an ivory polar bear and seal handle ( finial ), made by George Omnik (1905 - 1978) of Point Hope, Alaska . Displayed at the Honolulu Museum of Art .