FP026 Vintage Frank Patania sterling silver and nugget turquoise pendant / brooch necklace; circa 1950’s – 1960’s
Origin: Tucson, AZ or Santa Fe, NM
Dimensions: 2.25” diameter; turquoise nugget area 1.38” diameter; nuggets approx. 1cm each ; chain length 23.5”; 62.8 gm
Condition: Excellent
Provenance: From estate in Phoenix, AZ
Price: SOLD

The Mandala (a circle with a center) represents unity, from the cellular structure of life to the design of the entire Universe. Spiritual practitioners from Tibet to the Navajo have ritually created sand mandalas, some incorporating crushed semi-precious stones, to demonstrate the principle of impermanence. Perhaps inspired by this artistic tradition, Frank Patania designed this substantially proportioned pendant/brooch with a mandala of deepest blue nugget turquoise. Interspersed among the stones are ten silver beads forming a five-pointed star. Tibetan Buddhists say that every mandala contains five ‘excellencies’: "the Teacher, the Message, the Hearer, the Place and the Time”. With its intensely spiritual message, this piece can be carried on its vintage sterling silver Navajo chain, or worn alone as a stunning brooch. Of generous size, satisfying weight, and bearing evidence of handcrafting, another inspired and mesmerizing design from the Patanias' fabled Thunderbird Shop.