—This will be a rather lengthy post indeed, but I’m hopeful that at least a few will see it through—
After a somewhat exhaustive search throughout Turquoise People, I could find no reference, (question, statement, or otherwise) to a craftsman that was known as Snow Horse. My family shared some moments in time with this artist, and I would like to share some of that history, as well as a few of the heirlooms I have been bestowed and pieces I have purchased.
My foremost intent with this thread is to learn something, as exists the very real possibility that members here may know something, own jewelry made by him, or have contributions. We know not where these strings of conversation could lead. Through my own research, I’ve been able to come up with very little on him. Otherwise, I’d like to provide some entertainment with the story and photos and perhaps a bit of information for anyone’s future reference, concerning his hallmarks and workmanship. While the style of his work may not jive with my preferences, there is no denying the workmanship he put into his pieces, and my family’s history with him plays a big role in my adoration for his work.
My maternal grandfather was an Indiana State Police officer, gunsmith, hunter, and the boulder that my family rested against and under during storms of life. For a time, he sold insurance, motorcycle insurance to be exact, for the Midwest Mutual Insurance Company. Midwest owned a cabin on the outskirts of Colorado Springs, CO. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, grandma and grandpa would load up my mother and father, (who were dating at the time), mom’s two brothers and their soon to be wives, for a two week stay at the cabin, always around Christmas.
How grandpa and Snow Horse met is unknown, however, I recall grandma mentioning it may have been on either a horseback mule deer hunt or an antelope hunt in Wyoming, but that’s neither here nor there. When the family would make this trek to the cabin, at some point during the two weeks, grandpa would take the family to Snow Horse’s home in Colorado Springs and commission custom work. This was almost a vacation inside of a vacation for the family, as it always turned into a few days filled with camping, mouth watering home cooked meals, bonfires and simply enjoying eachother’s company. This time spent together, and the interactions that transpired, made up much of Snow Horse’s design of each piece, as grandpa told it. One memory that grandma would often recount is when Snow Horse was measuring my father’s wrist for a cuff, he told him he’d never measured any wrist of that size, dad did have some monstrous hands.
Over the years Snow Horse had made a cuff for my father, a pendant for my grandfather, a bracelet for my mother and a few other pieces for my uncles and their wives that I currently don’t have access to. I have fairly recently purchased a few pieces online that were crafted by his hands, as gifts for my younger sister and my mother. I may not be able to provide the experience or impress the memories as grandpa did, but I find it heartwarming to, in a way, continue the tradition.
His style was somewhat contemporary, especially considering the timeframe in which he was making jewelry, at least I feel. Cobblestone inlay, flush/channel/wrap-around inlay, and somewhat geometric design elements are some (potentially) tell-tale signs of his work, while he is obviously not the only artist to utilize these methods, his work is fairly distinctive overall. His hallmark has varied, from a stamped “SH”, to an engraved “SH”, to his full name, “Snow Horse” with and without an asterick or star, in a cursive script, both engraved with a vribatory engraver. Perhaps @mmrogers wouldn’t mind setting me straight, but I’ve also seen his hallmark engraved with what appears to be a vibrating pen, but with a “chisel tip” or “straight blade tip” rather than the usual pointed or semi-pointed round tip, an example of this will be posted below. He utilized turquoise, quartz, teak, ebony, mother of pearl, bone and jet to name a few. While not something he made a habit of, (I know @Ziacat isn’t a big fan of this, nor am I, mainly due to it seemingly being overdone in the 1970’s) he placed two black bear claws on the pendant he made for my grandfather, as grandpa had just come off of a successful bear hunt in Canada, a few months prior.
Below are photographs of some of his work. While not possesing the elegance I promised @TAH, I was attempting to get detailed shots, as this thread is rather specific.
This is the bracelet that was made for my father, hallmarked with a hand stamped “SH”.
This is the pendant that was made and gifted to my grandfather. I’ve always enjoyed how Snow Horse oriented the claws, in a naja form through my eyes. Hallmarked with a vibratory engraving pen, “Snow Horse”. Note there is no asterick or star as I mentioned above.
This was a fairly recent online purchase, and will be gifted to my mother. Hallmarked with “Snow Horse *”, utilizing an engraving pen once again.
Yet another recent purchase, this one is a gift for my younger sister. Hallmarked “Snow Horse”, minus the “*”.
The second half of my mother’s christmas gift this year. The method in which he finished the cobblestone inlay on this piece in particular is well executed in my opinion, the full radii on the main settings is a beautiful touch. This one is rather heavy, and it’s hallmark is the one I pinged @mmrogers on, as it appears to be executed with some kind of “straight blade” or “chisel tip” vibratory engraver?
And finally, a bracelet and ring set that I purchased and gifted to my sister last Christmas. We live a decent distance from eachother, so these photos were sent to me by her. The bracelet is hallmarked “Snow Horse *” and the ring bears simply “SH”.
I will (at some point) get photos of the bracelet he crafted for my mother, she lives quite a distance away as well.
It is my hope that some of this community will have enjoyed this, and if any of this information or any of these photographs serve someone in the future, all the better!
Regards,
Aaron