Hubert Koonuk: North Alaskan Eskimo Inupiak baleen basket with scrimshaw eagle finial, c. 1960.
Signed on inside top:
Made by Hubert Koonuk (1911-1994)
Signed on the bottom:
Pt. Hope, Alaska No. 6
This woven baleen basket has a fine scrimshaw eagle finial mounted on lid top and a matching rectangular piece on bottom. Inside piece is circular, says “Pt. Hope, Alaska No. 6” and is woven into the basket bottom. Same with inside top piece which says “Made by Hubert Koonuk”. The basket measures 3.5” in diameter and 11.5” in circumference. Basket height including finial is 3.625” high.
Mr. Koonuk was one of the most prolific basket makers in Pt. Hope for the better part of the 20th century.
This basket is in excellent condition. The previous owner's mother traveled to a number of Alaskan villages when she worked for the BIA in the 1960s and was given many pieces as welcome gifts from local residents. This piece had been in her family ever since.
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