For years design aficionados have been craving anything mid-century modern. Now this fascination has extended beyond just furniture to vintage Taxco silver from the 50s and 60s. But before you go and buy any piece of silver you can find, you should know the names to look out for.
One of the most important things when buying vintage silver as an investment piece is to know who made it. There are several well-known artists in Taxco to look for, including William Spratling, Hector Aguilar, Los Castillo, and Ana Nunez de Brillanti.
William Spratling
American-born William Spratling is often stated as one of the major figures credited for starting the burgeoning Taxco silver movement, going as far as to be called the “Father of Contemporary Mexican Silver”. He was initially trained as an architect, but when he went to Taxco to research a project, he saw great potential in the area and gave up his practice to become a silversmith. Many of the well-known artisans from this era began their careers as Spratling’s apprentices. Almost any Spratling piece would be considered a good investment (if bought at the right price).
This is a great 1930s example of Spratling using locally mined Taxco silver and amethyst.
Hector Aguilar
Aguilar, born 1905, was employed as William Spratling’s shop manager before opening his own workshop a scant three years later. Due to a strong business sense and solid financial backing, Aguilar gained a lucrative contract to produce silver jewelry for one of the largest American costume jewelers of the time, Coro, and soon opened Taller Borda, which went on to become one of the premier retail silver outlets in Taxco.
This is a well known piece by Hector Aguilar. In fact, this exact piece was shown in Penny Morrill’s book, “Silver Masters of Mexico”.
Los Castillo
Los Castillo is not an individual but instead a shop founded by Don Antonio Castillo in the 1930s. While Don Antonio is not around any longer, his daughters continue the practice today.
This piece from the 1940s is highly coveted due to the rarity of Los Castillo undertaking the vermeil process. Vermeil is produced by combining sterling silver with gold and other precious metals to create a gold plating over the inner core of silver. Vermeil pieces by Los Castillo weren’t made very often, which make them very hard to find.
Victoria of Taxco - Ana Maria Nunez de Brilanti
Ana Nunez de Brilanti is one of the original Taxco silver designers, starting her business in the 1930s. She was befriended by William Spratling who helped her improve the quality of her work, and because of that, Ana’s pieces are known for their highest quality. In fact, she was often known for destroying any piece that did not meet her exacting standards. Many of her pieces are of the higher grade 980 silver so there is a small premium to be paid due to more silver in her pieces.
This necklace and bracelet set is of her “Angels” design, which is one of the most famous designs by Ana. You can’t go wrong with a signature piece from any designer.
Even though you now know a few of the famous Taxco designers, you should first and foremost buy the jewelry that you love. However with the increasing collectability of Taxco jewelry, these beautiful pieces can be an investment as well.
For more items from these Taxco, Mexico masters go to: Hector Aguilar, William Spratling, Los Castillos, Victoria of Taxco / Ana Nunez or Taxco Silver on VandM.com.
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2 comments:
Mexican silver jewelry is so well designed-fits smoothly on the neck and wrist. The quality is premier and the prices still affordable. Also, look for early (late 1930s-40s) pieces in higher silver content-marked .980. Often the silversmiths working for the designers made copies on their own and they are identical to the designer-marked pieces. These still have the silver content and the assay marks, but are available for much less than the designer-marked piece.
Vintage Mexican silver jewelry is definitely on the rise, both in terms of popularity and cost. For those just starting out, get a copy of "The Little Book of Mexican Silver Trade and Hallmarks" by Bille Hougart - it's invaluable.
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