Taxco Jewelry
Artists and intellectuals gathered in Mexico at the end of the Mexican Revolution with the goal of restoring prosperity and pride in Mexico. By the late 1920s-early 1930s, it was clear that a vibrant Mexican Renaissance was under way. These artists and intellectuals included such renowned luminaries as Diego Rivera, Fred Davis, Rene' d'Harnoncourt, and William Spratling.
The jewelry renaissance centralized in Taxco, whose history of mining and working silver goes back to Cortez and before. With the advent of artists such as William Spratling and Fred Davis opening shops and marketing their products, jewelry from Taxco became internationally famous for the quality of its design, workmanship, and high silver content. (The LEAST quality silver jewelry produced was sterling silver or .925 silver; much of the product was .940, .970, and .980, all of which has fewer alloys and is therefore much more difficult to work.)
Some of the finest Mexican artists began working in Spratling's taller and then went on to open their own workshops or design and produce jewelry under their own names. These people include Antonio Pineda, Antonio Castillo, Margot Castillo, Miguel Melendez and others.
Each shop had its own hallmarks that were modified frequently to prevent copying by others. Each piece of jewelry was stamped with the hallmark of the shop, the silver content, and the location of the shop.
Marcy Burns American Indian Arts makes a great effort to authenticate each piece of jewelry and extends a full written warranty for every object we sell. Please feel free to contact us to see additional works.
“Comma” design bracelet
6 5/8” inner circumference x 1 1/4” high
Hallmarks: SILVER (970 silver); eagle 17, MADE IN MEXICO, ZZ516
Excellent condition in a bracelet of this age
ex: Private Collection. Similar bracelet is illustrated in Mexican Silver by Penny Chittim Morrill and Crole A Berk (Schiffer, 4th edition, 2007), p. 146, XII-13.
Antonio Pineda is acknowledged as one of the Masters of silver jewelry during the Renaissance that occurred after the Mexican Revolution. When he was a teenager, he apprenticed briefly with William Spratling at Taller de las Delicias where he learned to appreciate great design along with developing his techniques of working silver. He later apprenticed with Valentin Vidueretta, a painter and silversmith in Mexico City and then returned to Taller de las Delicias as a salesman and manager. He opened his own taller in 1939 and by the early 1950s, was recognized internationally as a leading modernist artist. His work was prized internationally for its quality and design.
$595.
(j2238)
necklace: 15.5” earrings: 1.25”
hallmarks: Antonio crown (a bit blurry), eagle 17, SILVER (upside down), eagle 17, 970, STERLING MEXICO, YY456
Onyx and silver
1953-1979
$3700. (set)
Necklace and earrings are each available separately
excellent condition
J2207
Antonio Pineda is acknowledged as one of the Masters of silver jewelry during the Renaissance that occurred after the Mexican Revolution. When he was a teenager, he was apprenticed briefly with William Spratling at Taller de las Delicias where he learned to appreciate great design along with developing his techniques of working silver. He later apprenticed with Valentin Vidueretta, a painter and silversmith in Mexico City, returning to Taller de las Delicias as a salesman and manager. He opened his own taller in 1939 and by the early 1950s, was recognized internationally as a leading modernist artist. His work was prized internationally for its quality and design.
obsidian and 970 silver with hallmarks: HECHO EN MEXICO; CROWN; Eagle 17; SILVER
necklace: 16 3/8” long x 3/4” wide
bracelet: 8 1/2” long x 1 3/8” wide
(*TO FIND YOUR BRACELET SIZE: Using a flexible tape measure or strip of paper, measure your wrist just below the bone (about where you would wear your bracelet). If you want the bracelet to fit tightly, add circa 1/4-1/2” to that measurement. If it you want it looser, add a bit more. Experiment to see what would feel comfortable.)
earrings: 1 7/8” long x 1 7/8” wide. Screwback.
These pieces of jewelry were made between 1953 and 1979. Condition is excellent.
SOLD
(Please inquire for price if you would like to purchase any of these pieces individually).
(J2197)
circa 17” long
970; SILVER; Crown; HECHO EN MEXICO; eagle 17
style hallmarks of YY and 510
excellent condition
ex: Marcy Burns American Indian Arts LLC; Private Collection
$2800.
(mc2172)
uite of jewelry by Antonio Pineda, one of the Masters of Mexican jewelry during the Modernist flowering of design in Taxco during the 1950s-1970s.
necklace: 16" long; bracelet: 3" diameter x 1 1/4" wide; each earring is 1 1/4" long
hallmarks: crown mark, eagle 17, SILVER/HECHO EN MEXICO/970/925/YY25/ZZ635.
the hallmarks place the date of production of this suite of jewelry as being between 1953-1979
ex: Collection of Cindy Tietze-Hodosh and Stuart Hodosh; exhibited in “Silver Seduction: the Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda” at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, 2008, p. 128, plate 152A-2 and plate 152D
excellent condition
(j2206)
in the form of a rose, 3 dimensional
circa 1940-1945
3 1/4" long
$850. (SALE)
(J2129)
7 1/16” long x 7/8” wide
*TO FIND YOUR BRACELET SIZE: Using a flexible tape measure or strip of paper, measure your wrist just below the bone (about where you would wear your bracelet). If you want the bracelet to fit tightly, add circa 1/4-1/2” to that measurement. If it you want it looser, add a bit more. Experiment to see what would feel comfortable.
925 silver and 5 amethyst stones
Hallmark: R Rivera, 925, Silver.Taxco. (same as hallmark listed “R. Rivera” on page 156 of The Little Mexican Silver Trade and Hallmarks by Bille Hougart, Third Edition, c 2013. The bracelet also has the eagle mark 3.
circa late 1948-1980
excellent conditions
ex: Private Collection
$275.
(MC2174)
pin/brooch: 2 3/8" wide at the widest point x 2 5/8" long at the longest point
chrysophase and 925 silver
Hallmarks: LEDESMA; PLATERIA CORTES; HECHO EN MEXICO; TAXCO; 925; 214 OR 914(??); EAGLE 3
$495. for the brooch (earrings have been sold)
(MC1773)
2 1/8” diameter (inside measurement) x 2” deep at inner center
opening is 1/2”
stamped: Margot de Taxco/STERLING/MADE IN MEXICO, 8392, eagle 16
excellent condition
ex: Marcy Burns Collection
$895.
(J2251)