Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver (314)

Made in the 1960s, this vintage Mexican sterling silver bracelet consists of figural disks developing in a row defined by lengths of double-woven, thick chain. I have seen this combination featuring three different kinds of disk designs. While here we have depictions of the country's history as well as symbols of its old religion (a jaguar warrior portrait, Quetzalcoatl, Mexico's state Eagle) the specific bracelet design can be found with Mexican coins or representations of the zodiac cycle...

Based on Salvador Teran's sought-after "dancers" design, the bracelet I am presenting here was crafted in the period the renowned Mexican modernist was active by one of his contemporary Taxco maestros. Absolute minimalism, strong graphics and a sense of unencumbered, fluid motion characterize the figural overlay which dominates the shadow-box construction of the three central links...

I love zodiac jewelry and thankfully so did the old Mexican maestros! Yet over the years I have noticed that no matter what their form (rings, brooches or bracelets), they are being snatched up with increasing fervor. So saying that they are becoming more difficult to find would not be an understatement, especially for rings which are an already challenging area of collecting in the vintage Mexican jewelry world...

It's been a very long time since I offered a Mexican clamper bracelet and I am happy to be starting again with a classic Taxco design, this repousse and shadowbox "Quetzalcoatl" example. The maestro who signs it I am familiar with - he worked in Taxco and it seems that clamper bracelets were one of his favorite forms...

One of the most beautiful early Taxco brooches I have had over the years, this glorious butterfly combines delicate repoussage and the marrying of copper and 980 silver with a richly colored piece of azur-malachite. Copper-plating fine silver is not something everything would think to do - after all, one is a precious metal, the other, though very important throughout history, is not...

Slick, a modernist dream-come-true, crafted with the highest quality of craftsmanship and studded with the most beautiful tiger's eye you have ever seen, this slick Mexican silver necklace was made in Taxco in the 1950s-60s...

Very much in the style associated with Matilde Poulat and often referred to as "Mexico City repousse" this sweet little silver "serpent scales" bracelet is adorned with an amethyst cabochon in its central station. An early example of this "school", it is an honest attempt to emulate the "grand dame" of Mexican silver jewelry albeit in a more demure, smaller scale than most of Matl's work...

One of Taxco’s two “Miguels”, Miguel Melendez started his career with William Spratling at Las Delicias, moved on to work with the Los Castillo and later Margot de Taxco and in the early 1950s opened his own workshop. A talented modernist with deep roots in Mexico’s rich archaeological history, he loved combining silver with hard- and semi-precious stones and excelled in two-sided pendants that married stone or shell inlay with abstract overlay on highly oxidized surfaces...

Maestro Ocampo's work I have come to appreciate over the years for its good craftsmanship and attention to finishing yet it's been a long time since I offered a piece by him. Quite often his jewelry is inspired by the creations of the bigger talleres and if I am not mistaken, the bracelet at hand is based on a Los Castillo design. The technique employed is also something the Los Castillo tried their hand at...

Quite substantial and very very mod this sterling silver bracelet by Danecraft is comprised of hefty links that have also been textured and oxidized to enhance their sculptural appeal. One of the most famous and prolific American jewelry manufacturers, Danecraft created various qualities of sterling pieces and I consider the bracelet presented here an example of their best lines...

A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, and in preparing to offer this fantastic find of mine, I am putting my trust in popular wisdom. When one has been dealing in vintage Mexican silver jewelry for as long a time as I have, one tends to hear that little "devil" in one's ear louder and louder, claiming that there is nothing new or exciting left to be encountered. Thankfully though, life and the old maestros of Taxco still keep some aces hidden up their sleeve...

In the years I have been buying and selling vintage Mexican silver jewelry I have seen many "mask" pieces - this is, after all, one of the "pillars" in the genre's design index and I am also very partial to it and always on the look out for good examples. I have to also admit that seeing jewelry of a certain kind over and over again makes one a little more blasé and hence, more difficult to impress. Yet impressed I was with this astounding combination pin / pendant I am presenting here...

I have had this mod Taxco bracelet a few times over the years - also in ring, earrings and brooch form. And I never tire of it! The example at hand is signed by maestro Moreno and it has the beguiling sculpturality that makes the design memorable. Two perfectly crafted silver spheres sitting on stylized leaves - that is all yet it is so much more. Gutsy, slick and eye-catching at the same time - definitely a bracelet for the daring among us...

Fortuno Mota, a talented Taxco maestro who in the 1950s and 1960s produced many of Antonio Pineda’s pieces, signs this stunning set of modernist dangle earrings. Crafted in Antonio’s signature fine .970 alloy, the pair reminds me of slender flutes as they elegantly hang off geometric stations with stone inlay. The inlay and the beads in which the dangles end seem to be made of azur-malachite with the second component responsible for the predominantly green and brown hues...

Maestro Velazquez is one of my favorite early Mexican silversmiths. Based on the hallmarks on his work, he was most probably based in Mexico City and his creations are almost always in the so-called Mexico City style of repousse. Very well made and carefully finished, this figural fish brooch is also characterized by a fun, cartoon-ish air that will put a smile on your face every day of the year. Measuring 2 1/4” tall by 1 3/8” wide it weighs 11.0 grams and is marked with maker’s signatu...

My second M Velazquez silver brooch for the day, this Mexican Deco repousse "portrait" I have never had (nor, I believe, seen) before. As opposed to the first figural pin, here the "sitter" is shown in profile, his likeness set in a raised frame against a stippled background. Velazquez's repoussage can be very dramatic and in the piece at hand it is also enhanced by deep chasing and oxidation which brings out the sculpturality of the face and the impressive headdress. The brooch measures 2 1/8"...

A figural repousse Mexican Deco brooch in sterling silver this "portrait" piece bears the signature of early Mexico City maestro M. Velazquez. Over the years of my love affair with vintage Mexican silver jewelry, I have come to know and appreciate Velazquez's work for its "earthiness", its craftsmanship and the interesting designs he created. The specific "mask" motif I have had a few times in the past in necklace, ring and brooch forms but always anonymous. Often described as an Aztec or Maya "...

A contemporary of Matilde Poulat's, maestro M. Velazquez also worked in Mexico City and created jewelry primarily in the repousse style associated with the capital and Matl, its most famous practitioner. Velazquez was a true master of his art - his jewelry is bold and his repoussage confident, sculptural and nicely finished. The inspiration for the fish brooch at hand was obviously an ancient Maya or Aztec glyph or carving. The hand-hammered body is here deeply etched for detail and subsequently...