The name says it all. Chrysocolla is a stone of water — blue-green, fluid in color, formed in the oxidized zones of copper deposits where moisture and mineral meet over millennia. The Waters Run Deep pairs it with a spot of hematite, the iron-rich counterpart that grounds the piece with a dark metallic presence. Together they read like a river stone pulled from a cold Dakota creek: the teal and blue of chrysocolla above, the deep iron of hematite beneath.

The name chrysocolla comes from the ancient Greek — chrysos, meaning gold, and kolla, meaning glue — first recorded by the philosopher Theophrastus in 315 BCE, who used it to describe the material goldsmiths used to solder precious metal. It forms alongside malachite and azurite in copper-bearing rock, and carries traces of copper, iron, and manganese oxide. Traditional beliefs hold that chrysocolla alleviates fear, guilt, and nervous tension — a calming stone, fittingly, for a piece named for still, deep water.

The buffalo carved from it carries its own ancient language. In Lakota, the word for buffalo is Tatanka — but to native speakers, the literal translation is something closer to "He who owns us." Not a creature to be possessed, but one that possessed the land, the seasons, and the lives of those who lived alongside it. The buffalo signifies endurance and emotional courage — and nowhere does that feel more present than in the Black Hills and Custer State Park, where the herds still roam.

A piece that carries the landscape within it.

Details

• Material: Natural chrysocolla with hematite inclusion
• Dimensions: Approx. 3½" L
• Technique: Hand carved
• One-of-a-kind — natural color and hematite placement vary

No two carvings are alike. The natural variation of chrysocolla and hematite is unique to each piece.