140-year-old Chilkat blanket bought at auction to return to Atlin, B.C.

To theauction house, it's a "masterworkof technical and aesthetic achievement."

To Wayne Carlickof the Taku River Tlingit, it's"part of a puzzle to help us heal" andbringing it home to Atlin, B.C., was essential.

The elaborate, braidedChilkat blanket, estimated to be from the 1880s, was soldon Fridayby the prestigious auction house Waddington's. And aftera down-to-the-wire bidding war, Carlickhad reason to celebrate.

The blanket would be coming home to Atlin for $38,000.

"[It] gives our culture a much-needed boost,"said Carlick, a renowned carver and cultural coordinator for the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, based in Atlin.

The blanket hadbeen held in an unknown private collection in Ontario before coming up for auction. It could have easily been sold before anybody in Atlin even caught wind of it, had it not been for Peter Wright.

Wright was born and raised in Atlin, B.C., and now divides his time between Yukon and B.C. He's an avid collector of art by Yukon's Ted Harrison, so he routinely watches for offerings from some of the bigger auction houses.

"That's why I found this I was looking forTed Harrison!" Wright said.

When he saw the blanket listed a few weeks ago, he immediately contactedCarlickwho was "ecstatic" at the discovery.They started talking about how to purchase it and bring it to Atlin.

Waddington's, the auction house, estimated a price of about $15,000 to $20,000.

Wright agreed to broker the sale and they set to work raising some money. An online fundraiser brought in nearly $2,000. The Taku River Tlingit also chipped in.

By Thursday a day before the auction closed bidding had topped $24,000. A day later it was over $30,000 and Wright found himself in a tense bidding war with someone else.

Wright said it was "super stressful," entering bids from far away by his phone.

"You're hitting the bid button and there's two seconds left, you know. You don't know if this guy is going to hit it, you don't know if your Internet is fast enough."

In the last minute, the price went up from $30,000 to $38,000 after a back-and-forth flurry of bids and counter-bids and then sold! To Peter Wright, for $38,000.

Wright doesn't know who he was bidding against at the end. He figures it could be an art dealer, or possibly another Tlingit First Nation.

Complex weaving tradition

Chilkat blankets (Naaxein in Tlingit) are "products of one of the most complex weaving traditions developed by peoples anywhere," according to Waddington's.

They're made with braided mountain goat wool and cedar bark, and dyes, with elaborate designs. They were traditionally used in ceremonies, dances,"or draped in an exhibition of wealth and prestige," the auction house said.

Carlick described it as an important piece of regalia that offers a direct link to the spirit of his Tlingit ancestors.

"When people were grieving and so on they would bring them out and place them onto tables and so on and show them. And people remember those incredible pieces of artwork," Carlick said.

It's not clear how thisblanket ended up in a private collection in Ontario. But Wright is glad that it's not there anymore.

"I kind of feel pretty strongly about this thing being in Ontario and a private collection that is never shown to the world," he said.

"Now we're bringing it back ...that's pretty cool."

Carlickalso couldn't be happier. He said fundraising willcontinue,to help cover the purchase cost, as well as other expenses the auction house fee, shipping, insurance, and storage once it's in Atlin.

It's not clear yet where or how the blanket will be kept or displayed once it arrives. But Carlick feels strongly that it should be prominent in his community. It's another step in his community's effort to reclaim and revive cultural traditions.

Traditional regalia, he says, areas vital to the culture as language.

"They go to museums, the museum makes money off of it, and so on.But many or most of our people have never seen these pieces. It never comes home," he said.

"I think a blanket like this would do wonders for our people, in so many different ways. Being able to just bring it home, have the repatriation ceremony, call our ancestors, and express the joy of having one of our pieces back home."