This wrist guard is beautifully engraved with crossed lines.
It was used to protect against the snap of the bowstring after the arrow was released.
Made from strips of leather (often derived from caribou gut), sinew was a durable type of rope used to weave and lace a host of objects such as harpoon lines and bowstrings. Although the term appears to be French-Canadian in origin, it derives from an Algonquian word meaning “rope”(ababich in Mi’kmaq) or “thread”(assabâbish in Ojibwe).
For a similar model see :
- Fitzhugh, J. Hollowell, A. Crowell. 2009
Gift of the ancestors. Ancient ivories of bering Strait.
Princetown University Art Museum. p.121
Price: €2,800