#199 • Walrus Ivory Bear & Flatfish Bracelet, Attributed to Moses Soonagurook (Soonagrook)

Part of October 2026 Curiosities Auction (timed auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $10.00

Status: Available

Bidding closes Oct 25, 2026 5:16 PM AKDT

Category: Jewelry

An expandable walrus ivory panel bracelet with relief-carved bear heads alternating with scrimshawed flatfish. Smooth cream-colored panels alternate between sculpted bear muzzles and fine dark line work tracing the flatfishes’ flattened bodies and fins. Two dark cords pass through the panels to form the articulated band. Attributed to Siberian Yupik carver Moses Soonagurook (Soonagrook) of Gambell, St. Lawrence Island; the accompanying collection tag records the name as "Moses Soonagrok." Approximately 7" in circumference. Provenance: From the collection of Karl R. Reinhard, D.V.M., Ph.D.; subsequently by family descent. Dr. Reinhard was a veterinarian and microbiologist with the U.S. Public Health Service’s Arctic Health Research Center in Anchorage and conducted health-study fieldwork on St. Lawrence Island between 1954 and 1960, developing friendships with residents of Gambell and Savoonga, including Moses Soonagurook. His experiences informed People of the Squeezed-Out Land: The Art and Times of an Eskimo Artist, an unpublished illustrated manuscript preserved in an annotated April 1975 draft. According to the family, the collection was exhibited at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln in 1993–94.