Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver: Mexican (257)

One of Taxco's most famous modernists Sigi Pineda was also a very prolific designer and at his best moments, truly inspired. I am used to seeing minimalist, fluid pieces by him and the brooch at hand, wrought in sterling silver and adorned with a teardrop-shaped obsidian, is the result of a good moment indeed...

Bearing the signature of Sanborn’s, the legendary Mexico City department store’s over whose antiquities and fine arts division Fred Davis was a supervisor in the mid-1930s, this wide, exuberant cuff bracelet is a classic for the genre. Repousse cuffs of this style came to be closely associated with Sanborn’s and Maciel though they were made by other, anonymous and “less celebrated” makers as well...

An applied shimmering sterling double boomerang, riveted on the highly polished and oxidized body catches the eye in this vintage Mexican silver bracelet by renowned Taxco modernist Enrique Ledesma. A successful marriage of the link and bangle forms, it is made up of three articulated “wings” and when worn maintains is circular shape perfectly. It’s been a while since I offered an example of this specific Ledesma line and I am very happy to be presenting this piece today...

One of my favorite “less celebrated” early Mexican maestros, AEM (or AE Heart as he is also referred to because of the way he signs his work) had his workshop in Mexico City and he created some really nice pieces. It has been a long time since I presented something by him but this set of “mesh and bead” dangle earrings more than compensates for the gap...

A retail shop in Taxco, Margarita was a place were one could buy jewelry by many local maestros, according to Bille Hougart. The long, beautifully made dangle earrings presented here bear only the shop’s name without a specific maker’s signature yet this does not affect their quality at all...

Made in Mexico City and following the “Matl school of repoussage” this early Deco silver and turquoise bracelet is anonymous and … gorgeous. Textured repousse feather motifs are predominant here, an allusion to the divine Feathered Serpent of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. I have always thought that this specific type of work that allows you to follow the maestro’s hand as it works the silver could easily be considered Mexico’s Arts and Crafts expression...

Spanish Colonial in inspiration with their heart-shaped wire-work and tiny little beading this set of sterling silver and amethyst dangle earrings is a Mexican Deco treasure. Securely set in their bezels, full of inclusions that shroud their depths in mystery, the stones are carved in the shape of leaves which hang off richly colored amethyst cabs. Big, bold, beautiful yet also so romantic and full of nostalgia...

Striding the divide between classic Mexican and Native American / Southwestern design this sterling silver bracelet is one of the most beautiful examples of the “marriage” I have seen. This hybridization is not, in fact, accidental as it is known from the relevant literature that Mexican maestros were a significant factor in the development of Native American silversmithing...

The "queen" of shadowbox designs, Victoria - otherwise Ana Maria Nunez de Brilanti - also excelled in the "married metals" technique. Her work is inspired, of the highest quality and today it is considered part of Mexico's 20th c. Silver Renaissance design index. The adjustable sterling silver ring I am presenting here is out of her coveted "angel" parure. The form does not come up very often and I am happy to have come upon a beautifully aged example...

Molten caramel golds and shimmering coffee browns are reflected in warmly mellowed silver in this modernist Mexican pendant necklace with neck ring. Very Scandinavian in design, necklaces of this type are not very common in the world of vintage Mexican jewelry and I consider myself even luckier to have come upon this exquisite example because it is also a pre-1980 creation...

Perfect for those breezy nights by the beach, this vintage Mexican silver Carmen Beckmann brooch is shaped like a starfish (some see it as a sea anemone too) and centered by a turquoise of the softest sea foam color. I love Beckmann jewelry - when she was inspired, she created some amazing pieces. Simple yet not simplistic, the almost abstract a-symmetry of the silver work is reflected in the shape of the stone...

Saturated blues and greens juxtaposed to the warm glow of well-aged silver soften the austere geometry of this Los Castillo modernist cuff bracelet. Out of the workshop’s “mozaico Azteca” line which celebrates the art of seamless inlay, the cuff is also showcasing the beauty of azur-malachite. There is nothing superfluous here - economy of design, honesty of materials and craftsmanship of the highest level combine in a visual power-house, a piece of mid-century wearable art...

I have written in the past that Elna jewelry is more often than not very generous in proportions but this stunner of a bracelet goes above and beyond that! It is not just its sheer monumentality that impresses. It is also the classically "archaeological" character of the design itself which is expressed by the carved stone "mask" of an ancient Aztec Eagle warrior. Awesome in its military magnificence, the portrait is flanked by highly stylized butterfly (?) links with big cabochons set in bezels...

Profusely studded with the Etruscan style’s tell-tale florets this long Mexican lariat necklace was made in Cuernavaca, one of the country’s main silver-smithing centers. A rather rare jewel of the Deco period, it consists of a long strand of short barrel beads strung on flexible silver wire. Classically elegant yet with body and strong presence, the necklace has developed a deep patina over the years. I particularly love the over-sized beads it ends in that are also reflected in the clasp c...

Margot de Taxco loved combination pin / pendant necklaces and she designed them so that you could take the brooch away and still link the two lengths of chain and wear them alone as an elegant choker. I suspect that many pieces were comprised of inter-changeable elements so if you had this set and a different pin/pendant out of her “hand-hammered” line, for example, you could theoretically attach to this chain and enjoy that second brooch as a necklace too. Big, bold and beautiful, the bow i...

One of Taxco's foremost modernists, Enrique Ledesma was also an accomplished lapidary and his slick, mid-century jewelry often feature a seamless marriage of silver with semi-precious and other stones. In the bracelet presented here, the green inlay is ridged and discreetly held in its sterling setting creating a row of elongated shield-shaped links that moves smoothly and easily conforms to the wrist. Lovely patina, beautiful color variation and a great signature make this a must-have for your ...

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. The figural pi...

An ode to overlay, beading and masterfully applied oxidation, this figural little Mexican Deco brooch is a depiction of Ozomahtli, the monkey companion of god Xochipili, associated with play and merry-making. I could have easily sworn that this is an example of Francisco Rivera’s work yet since it is not signed for maker, I can only suggest this might be the case. The quality is certainly there - thick silver sheet, attention to each and every detail, perfect finishing, good weight - a really ...