Catalog: Archives: Estate Jewelry (467)

Swallows hold within their slender, elegant little bodies tender memories of my childhood in Greece - they are considered the most important harbingers of spring and symbolize regeneration, hope and the assurance that sun-filled days will always follow the darkest hours of winter. For the Victorians, they represented faithfulness and the promise of a loved-one's return and as a motif, they were widely used in sentimental jewelry...

Zodiac jewelry is not uncommon in the field of vintage Mexican silver yet it is mostly bracelets (charm or link), pins and combination pin/pendants that one finds...

There is nothing simplistic or facile about Francisco Rivera’s jewelry! A maestro who loved overlay, paid attention to detail and finishing, created pieces that cry out to be held and touched and enjoyed he is, in my opinion, still to be recognized as the talented, inspired silversmith and designer that he was...

I love these Mexican Deco "berries-on-a-branch" brooches! They are big and impressive and the berries come in different colors depending on the kind of agate used. I am always on the look-out for the best examples, the ones in which the silver branches are hefty and interestingly entwined and the berries made of good quality stone, rich in striations and color-variation...

Based on an ancient glyph, or at least inspired by one, this vintage Los Castillo Mexican silver and azur-malachite inlay necklace is out of the workshop's "mozaico Azteca" line of jewelry. Centuries old, the technique became almost obsolete during the Colonial period but was revived by Chato Castillo, one of Taxco's most talented, innovative and original maestros...

It is a rare occurrence to find a Margot de Taxco ring - some designs do crop up from time to time but to come upon her "yin and yang" design no 5170 is quite a strike of luck! Out of her enamel creations, I have to admit that this is one of my favorite not only because of the "balanced" motif but mainly because of the soul-soothing colors it comes in...

Biomorphic sterling silver appliques on a highly oxidized "puffy" background take center-stage in this modernist Mexican set of Salvador Teran earrings. I grew up close to the sea so to my eyes, it's little crabs catching a bit of sun on mossy beach pebbles that are pictured here but your mind's eye might see something entirely different. Precious like all Salvador jewelry, beautifully made, not entirely identical as is the case with hand-wrought pieces of wearable art...

Slick and elegant in such a less-is-more way this set of vintage sterling silver Kupitaan Kulta modernist earrings was created in Finland in the 1950s-60s period. It seems to me that in this set Elis Kauppi tempered bare bones minimalism with the lightest possible trace of vermeil that covers the inner surfaces of the earrings' rectangular building blocks and gives the illusion of a textured finish. Spectacularly beautiful they measure 2 3/8" long by 3/8" wide and weigh 7.2 grams (for the set)...

An iconic creation for Enrique Ledesma, this design can be found in all jewelry forms and with various stones. There is something very sculptural in the way the stone is cut that bestows an irresistible tactile quality to it and the case of the brooch at hand is no exception. Predominantly green with sage overtones yet not lacking rich blues and more muted browns, the azur-malachite is securely set in its warmly glowing silver frame...

Probably my favorite among the Taxco modernists, Salvador Teran has that magic touch which allows him to draw a perfectly "readable" picture with the least amount of strokes. His work is inspired and his ability to deal with different materials and always create wearable pieces of art is simply unbelievable. In this set of abstract earrings my eyes see the figures of two birds...

Dashing early modernist Mexican silver and amethyst earrings with the signature of the Los Ballesteros workshop, this set is a variation on the "clamshell" type of jewelry that was so popular with modernist Taxco maestros in the mid- to later 1940s...

I don’t usually venture into the 1980s with vintage Mexican silver jewelry but Erika Hult de Corral is one of the few instances in which the general rule is broken. A Paris-educated, talented modernist with a distinct brutalist strain in her designs, Ric (as she signs her pieces) worked with Sigi Pineda and Enrique Ledesma before she opened her own workshop...

What with their bows and their beading Margot de Taxco's "cornflower" earrings are the epitome of retro elegance. The set presented here is, I believe, the smaller version of the design but I love it for its easy-to-enjoy size and the wonderful patina that enhances the sculptural appeal of the floral dangles. A classic in Margot's repertoire, the pair is always "en vogue" and adds that distinct quality to one's appearance that makes heads turn...

Vintage 1940s Hector Aguilar silver repousse floral brooch in what I believe to be a squash blossom design which might even have been created by Valentin Vidaurreta. There are several variations of the motif that can be found in various sizes and weights - during the short period in the 1940s when Coro had their jewelry made in Aguilar's workshop due to the war restrictions, brooches like this albeit lighter were also made for the American market and stamped with Coro's Mexican hallmark...

One of the demanding techniques the Los Castillo workshop is credited with, onix negro (black onyx) was introduced by them in the world of Taxco silver-smithing in the early 1950s and it has resulted in some amazing pieces of jewelry. Set within a carefully carved piece of flat-cut black onyx, the silver elements of a design are then ground down to match the stone surface in a seamless, perfect plane...

An accomplished member of the Mexico City school of repoussage, maestro M. Velazquez was a contemporary of Matilde Poulat's and many of his designs are actually based on Matl's originals...

It's almost the middle of August but this vintage Antonio Pineda brooch makes me think of leaves twirling in the wind filling the world with the fiery golds and reds of Fall. It is characteristic of the design genius inherent in some maestros that they can take a simple, familiar form and put such a twist to it (in our case literally), the form turns into a little work of art. This is a very sculptural brooch, the sense of motion it holds within it strong, its patina to die for. Real beauty does...

Light and airy this vintage Hector Aguilar foliate brooch looks almost like an anatomical leaf study in fine, .940 silver. I think it is a fern leaf that is presented in its absolutely bare essentials yet the stem's playful curve and the graduated lessening of the pin's width as it proceeds from base to leaf tip impart a pleasantly deceiving illusion of sculpturality. Easy to wear, soothing on the eye, perfect for the time when trees put on their fall colors. The brooch measures 3 3/8" tall by 1...