Product Overview
Baleen basket weaver James Omnik Jr. was born in Point Hope, Alaska, a village located on a spit of land jutting into the Chukchi Sea in Northwest Alaska. Point Hope is a subsistence village dependent upon fishing, gathering and hunting of marine mammals for food. The bowhead whale is the center of subsistence activities and the source of the baleen used in Point Hope baskets. James learned the skill of baleen basket weaving from his father, James Sr. and his uncle, the late John Omnik.
James Jr. has developed his own style of baskets distinguished by a conical shape, wide wefts and coils, use of white baleen and a hand-carved walrus ivory whale’s fluke finial.
The basket is made of baleen and walrus ivory. The finial on top is a whale tail carved out of walrus ivory. The basket is approximately 4" in diameter and 4.5" high.
