Important Frank Patania Vintage Hand Tooled Sterling Silver Geometric Buckle Old

This is a magnificent vintage Southwestern all silver overlay buckle handmade by the very famous artist, Frank Patania. What makes this piece so extremely unique is that Frank Patania creates Native American jewelry but is not Native American. He was born in Sicily, Italy and trained as a goldsmith in Italy from a very young age, then later immigrated to the United States. Why Patania is important is because he created a unique style that blended traditional European goldsmithing along with Southwestern silver and turquoise jewelry making. He gets is inspiration from the Navajo and Pueblo tribes. His work is so distinctive that collectors often refer to it as the "Patania Thunerderbid Style." After developing tuberculosis in the 1920's, Patania moved to Santa Fe, NM to recover. He fell in love with the Southwest and opened the famous Thunderbird Shop in 1927. The shop originally sold Native American art and jewelry, but Frank soon began creating and selling his own silver and turquoise pieces. Many experts consider him one of the pioneers who elevated Southwestern jewelry into the fine art world. Patania pieces are highly collectible making this buckle extremely rare. This buckle is all silver and consists of a fascinating very deep overlay pattern that consists of an outer oval shape with internal carved out sections. Located within the section are amaing chisel works. The buckle measures around 2-1/4" X 1-3/4" and can fit a belt width of about 1-1/2" or less. Sterling silver, marked. Signed by artist, Frank Patania. Cir. 1930's+. Sturdy 32 grams.

Make Us an Offer- Due to the high demand of our items, many pieces sell quite fast. The most frequent email we receive are from buyers who waited too long to make us an offer and suddenly lost out because another buyer came in and purchased. Send us your reasonable offer today, we are flexible and you have nothing to lose! Ahéhee' (Thank you)

How Layaway Works:

Layaway programs we offer that you can choose from when you pay for the item:  

- Shop Pay Installments (Usually 4 payments)

- Affirm (Up to 12 payments)

-Klarna (Usually 4 payments)

How Does Layaway Work with Making an Offer?  

If your offer is accepted you will receive an email invoice from us and will be able to choose your layaway program when you pay the invoice. If for some reason you cannot get approved for any of the programs simply let us know and we will cancel out the invoice. You have nothing to lose and the most beautiful art to gain! :)