We are proud to announce Legendary Patania Jewelry was awarded best book in the New Mexico History category of the 2023 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards.
Celebrate three generations of significant American jewelers—their stories and their stunning work—in the only authorized history of the Patania family.
The Patanias unique jewelry blends their Italian heritage, midcentury modern design, and influences from Native American southwestern jewelry, resulting in a singular and striking style. The book chronicles the history of the family from 1899, when Frank Patania Sr. was born in Italy, through his son Frank Patania Jr., up to the present day, where the third generation, Sam Patania, continues the tradition of designing and making modern jewelry with a southwestern flair. The first full-length publication documents the jewelry made by the Patanias and other craftspeople sold at their Thunderbird Shop, including information to attribute and date pieces, history of hallmarks used, and biographies of noted silversmiths who worked there. Beautiful images, including full-page photos of never-before-published masterpieces, make this the definitive resource on the family and their continuing legacy.
- Hardcover, 8-1/2″ x 11″
- 256 pages
- 304 color and B&W images
- ISBN: 978-0764364464
- Publication date January 2023
- Available from Schiffer Publishing and Amazon.
- Signed copies by the authors and the second, third and fourth generation Patanias are available from Sam Patania and Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery.
About the Authors
Pat and Kim Messier, mother and daughter, live in Tucson, Arizona and have co-authored four books, Legendary Patania Jewelry (scheduled to release January 2023), Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry, Garden of the Gods Trading Post, and Hopi & Pueblo Tiles: An Illustrated History. We have given presentations on Native American and Southwestern jewelry hallmarks in Tucson and Phoenix and served as guest curators of the pottery tile exhibit “Clay Squared” at Arizona State Museum in 2007. Our articles about Native American art have appeared in Native American Art Magazine and “The Indian Trader” newspaper.
In December 2021 we sat down with Dr. Mark Sublette, owner of Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, to record an episode of his Art Dealer Diaries podcast. We discussed our careers in Native American art, how we became authors and how the art has influenced our lives.