Description
sz9.25 Frank Patania Sr(1899-1964) Modernist southwestern Sterling Coral and turquoise ring 8.8 grams.
All precious metals are tested and guaranteed, any Native American jewelry
referred to as Silver or Sterling is guaranteed to be a minimum of 90% (coin)
silver and possibly higher content. Anything marked is guaranteed to be what
it's marked, most bracelets are photographed on a 6" wrist (non hairy), rings
photographed on the appropriate sized finger when possible. With bracelets if
the measurement is not given in the description then inside circumference is
shown where the metal meets the number on the the cloth tape measure.
Frank Patania Sr. immigrated to New York City in 1908. Child labor laws kept the
young man from working as a craftsman, but after World War I he was old enough
to be hired as a designer for an important jewelry firm. In 1924 he contracted
tuberculosis, and the firm sent him to a sanatorium in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Patania was seduced by the active art colony and healthy climate, and chose to
remain in the Southwest even after his health improved. His work reflects both
his European training and his exposure to Pueblo and Navajo jewelry.
The legacy left by Frank Patania, Sr. came from the integration of two
distinctly different traditions-one European, and the other Native American. On
the one hand, Frank Sr. drew from a long history of Italian creative spirit,
combining technical expertise and artistic imagination. He instilled in his
family the Italian commitment to fine craftsmanship, as well as the Italian
custom of family corporate bonding.
This uniquely Italian tradition can be traced back as far as the Renaissance,
and provides a structure in which each member of an artisan family has a job to
perform that contributes to the family enterprise. This familial check and
balance system has been a powerful asset to the Patania family's continued
standard of excellence through the years. But Frank Sr.'s style was drastically
transformed when he was introduced to the work of southwest Native American
jewelers in the 1920s.
His inspiration was multi-faceted; he began to work in a new medium-silver and
turquoise-as well as in increased scale, and using new techniques. The
successful marriage of these two disparate traditions has become the foundation
upon which each generation has maintained the tradition of excellence in
craftsmanship and design that has come to be known as the "Patania Thunderbird"
style.
