ABOUT PHILANDER:

There's a reason why Philander has won the numerous awards he has.There are SO many that even he's lost tracked! When I asked, "How many have you won"?? When he answered "I really can't say because there were SO many",but he figured there were at least 30-1st PLACE AWARDS that came from the yearly "Gallup Inter Tribal Ceremonial" event,3-1st place awards at the highly attended Heard Museum & in 2007 he won 1st place at the biggest Native American event in the country, which is our yearly "Santa Fe's Indian Market". Both of the latter he won for his award winning concho belts.(And if Philander had this belt at our Indian Market 2022,I have NO doubt this wouldn't take 1st place!!)

Just one of many of the things that I adore about Philanders work, is for the fact that when you look at his jewelry,you are looking at a piece that emulates a painting. He is known for giving us depictions of Navajo ceremonial events as if you're right there & just like a painting,Philander gives us nothing less than the best with the most accurate of detail! There is so much realistic detail in this & will give you that much more respect for the art Philander does! I am always at a loss of words when it comes to ANYTHING Philander makes!

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To understand the historical story in this belt is going to take a minute so you can get the full spectrum of not only the belt, but the story behind it..Without overloading you however, much of what happened during the "1680 Pueblo Revolt" you can Google OR for another, there's a great article to learn more about the 1680 Pueblo Revolt by copy/pasting the link below**:

https://newmexiconomad.com/the-pueblo-revolt-of-1680/

Santa Fe is known as the 'Art Capitol" of the country & yes,also known for all it's charm, jewelry & beauty,but little do people know about it's darker days..This piece of art is made where Philander tells the historical story of the Pueblo Revolt!

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THE PUEBLO REVOLT:

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was a revolution against Spanish religious, economic, and political institutions imposed upon the Pueblos. The Spaniards came in & wanted to take away their language,their ceremonial kivas & replace them with churches & wanted the Natives to change to Catholicism. In other words,they wanted to take away everything that meant something to them & if they didn't change,they would kill them, so all hell broke loose & the Natives rebelled.. It is the only successful Native uprising against a colonizing power in North America.Natives call this the 1st real American Revolution.

In the 1670s, the Spanish governor of New Mexico ordered several Pueblo holy men executed, and many others publicly whipped. Po’Pay, a holy man and War Captain of Ohkay Owingeh, was one of the men whipped in Santa Fe, an experience that hardened his resolve to drive the Spanish from New Mexico. In the face of turmoil, suffering from prolonged drought, and fearing the complete loss of their culture, the Pueblo people resorted to armed resistance.

Po’pay organized and led the revolt. A date for collective rebellion was set, and runners were sent to all the Pueblos carrying knotted cords which represented the number of days until the day of uprising. Each morning, the Pueblo leadership untied one knot from the cord, and when the last knot was untied, it was the signal for them to act in unison.

The successful revolt kept the Spanish out of New Mexico for 12 years, and established a different power dynamic upon their return. The Pueblo Revolt holds great historical significance because it helped ensure the survival of Pueblo cultural traditions, lands, languages, religions, and sovereignty.

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ABOUT THE BUCKLE & THE 'YOWE KACHINA" (Priest Killer)

Yowi or Yowe is represented as an Ogre Kachina. He is a great symbol of Native American's struggle for existence. Legend states that Yowe killed and beheaded a Franciscan priest to protect indigenous people from Church's atrocities.. He was regarded as a deity of certain Hopi Warrior Clans, having supremely powerful inner spiritual responsibility to punish, including taking life. He is now referred to by the non-Hopi people as the Priest Killer because he carried out the beheading of the priest during the Pueblo Revolt in 1680. You can see this figure in the buckle,where the Yowe is seen holding a knife & beheads the Franciscan Priest & in this, the head in it's hand actually MOVES!! A Conquistador lays wounded with arrows stuck in his back as he lays dying in front of the Adobe church.

The Yowe is is wearing a necklace with 3.5 carats of PREMIUM LANDER BLUE TURQUOISE & this cut alone cost $350 A CARAT!!! Deserving to be set in the best,this cut is set in 18K gold & the bezel comes serrated. The moon in this section is also 18k..His tongue is made with Mediterranean coral,as well as the beheaded priest. If you put the last concho along side the buckle,you will see the Yowe getting ready to behead him & the buckle then shows him beheaded.So these 2 tell a story..The buckle Philander said weighs just over 11 OUNCES!(This is where his hallmark is.)

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THE CONCHOS:

This is made where Philander drew the story out & then poured hot molten sterling into Tufa stone. Using tufa is a one time technique,,which makes this literally a "One of a Kind" belt,since the tufa can't be reused.. There are 8 conchos where each tell the story & Philander told me that they weigh 5 OUNCES EACH! Each are 4" x 2-1/4" each.

On the 1st concho is the Hopi Puebloan Warrior who is getting ready to shoot an arrow & is dressed in old style Puebloan clothing & is wearing moccasins & on the left foot,the moccasin extends above the base of the metal.

The 2nd is where you'll see where he's holding the cord that was to count the days down before attacking(read about this in the 3rd. paragraph under "THE PUEBLO REVOLT") This has an 18K gold crescent moon & the pueblo is shown in the back.

The 3rd concho is where you see a young man talking with an elder & if you look close,you'll see these little cut out people in the background! 24K gold beads sit at the top.

The 4th depicts a warrior shooting an arrow while the Spanish church burns in the background. The flames are cut out,as well as the door to the church & the window!

The 5th concho shows the Conquistador in full & accurate attire being wounded & little cut out Conquistadors are laying with arrows in them.

The 6th Concho shows a young mother & child running for their life while running past a Conquistador's hat.Set in the evening with a 20K gold moon above.

The 7th concho shows the Conquistador on his horse while trying to get away from being knifed!

The last concho shows the Yowe Kachina getting ready to behead the Franciscan priest(This pairs with the buckle) Tongue of Coral & 18K gold moon above.

**This is "Museum Worthy" of being in one of the best Native American Museums & is for the those Native American connoisseurs who collect nothing BUT the finest in Native American art! It's a TRUE collector's piece & Philander's name is a name that will always hold value!

This is an EXTREMELY heavy belt (Just under 4 POUNDS! See weights below) & is meant to be worn outside the shirt.