Jewelry made of turquoise and silver instantly brings Native American culture to mind. But much of the popularization of such jewelry came through a family of Italian jewelry craftsmen. Frank Patania, Sr. immigrated to New York with his parents in 1908 after training to be a goldsmith as a child.
He was recognized as a talented jewelry designer even in his teens. But doctors sent him to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to recover from tuberculosis, and he opened a jewelry store there. And then another in Tucson.Frank Sr.’s designs stood out among the more familiar shapes of Native American jewelry, and in turn, his work influenced many artisans in the area. “He brought with him an Italian design sense, and worked silver in a gold and platinum style that made his pieces more sculptural and lighter in appearance than what was being done by Native Americans at the…
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