White Buffalo Pendant with Stand
Sterling Silver and White Buffalo Howlite Flower Pendant and Stand by Curtis Pete. The silver stand is stamped and supports the pendant to allow it to be viewed as art when not in use. The pendant measures2.75″ x 2.5″ and when mounted, it stands 4 1/8″ tall.
White Buffalo
White Buffalo is another name for Howlite was named after Henry How, who discovered it in 1868 in Nova Scotia. Henry How was a Canadian chemist, geologist and mineralogist who was told of this previously unknown mineral by gypsum quarry miners who found it hampered their mining because it is harder than gypsum. Howlite is a borate mineral, which occurs in Canada and parts of the USA. It forms as irregular nodulesn which can appear in the shape of a cauliflower head. Transparent howlite crystals are extremely rare and are small (the largest documented howlite crystals are 1 cm long), but the nodules can occur in masses of over 50 kilograms. Howlite has the appearance of white marble or porcelain with a sub-vitreous lustre. It is opaque and white or grey with grey, black or dark brown veins running through it. Gemstone quality howlite can be interspersed by the darker matrix (which appears as the veins), or it can be matrix-free and pure white.
No one knows with certainty when the first silver gift was bestowed. But as early as 3,100 B.C., ambassadors from Crete were already bringing silver vases as gifts for Egyptian rulers. The metal’s popularity has even influenced our languages and customs. A silver spoon has symbolized great fortune and privilege since the 17th century when the Spanish writer Cervantes cleverly acknowledged that not everyone was born with one in his mouth. The tradition of the “silver anniversary” dates back to Germany where it was customary to present a silver wreath to a woman after 25 years of marriage.
A special gift of sterling silver is a touching and lasting expression of affection, friendship, celebration, congratulation or thanks.
In these Howlite Earrings the howlite measures 1 ¼” inches long by ¾” of an inch wide.
Native American Artist: Curtis Pete
Curtis Pete is a Navajo-Hopi silversmith born in Parker, Arizona. He moved to the reservation when he was four years old and was raised by his grandparents. When Pete was 27, he began learning the techniques of silversmithing from his uncle, Robert Yellowhair. He has also learned and mastered the art of goldsmithing.