This beautiful baleen basket is a real show stopper! The basket is made from the baleen of a bowhead whale, it is what the whale sifts seawater through to eat plankton, krill and small fish. It measures about 8 inches square and almost 7 inches tall at the top of the Ivory wolf carving. It also has 4 natural wolf claws set around the carving. It was made by Max Tooyak, this is an art form that was handed down to him through his family. Weaving baskets from whale baleen is very difficult and there are few artists specializing in this art form. Making a square basket is particularly difficult as the baleen strands are very stiff and want to stay in a round shape.
We love to collect baleen baskets and have several available, give us a call if you would like us to send pictures of others.
