Lincoln Milligrock, an Inupiaq artist from Little Diomede Island (1931 – 2010) was one of the last makers of carved animal bracelets. Most other bracelets of his we have encountered have featured sea mammals. This one features an entire sled dog team, including the sled and driver, four pairs of dogs pulling together, and the single lead dog. Recently strung on new elastic, the bracelet has an inside circumference of about 7 1/4 inches. It is approximately 3/8 inch wide. The animals are carved from fresh bone and adorned with small scrimshaw details. The darker pieces are cross-sections of old ivory, which contrast nicely with the white fresh bone.
While the artist was carving into the 21st century, we believe this bracelet dates to the 3rd or 4th quarter of the 20th century. Because the signature differs from later work of his, we believe this is an early piece. We continue to do research on it. Please note that products containing ivory or other marine mammal components cannot be shipped to New York, New Jersey, or California. As of this writing, it is still legal to ship these products to all other states. Click here to see a brochure published by the U.S. Department of the Interior with more details on this topic.
