A Miguel Melendez Taxco handmade sterling silver and azurmalachite mosaic inlay Mexican modernist Sun God design pendant c. 1960s.
Available...
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#handmade #huge #sterlingsilver #miguelmelendeztaxco #mexicanmodernism #pendant #taxco #mexicansilver #wearable #art
Three piece Mexican modernist Celestial Eagle design brooch with earrings set created by Ana Nunez de Brilanti for Victoria Plateria in Taxco circa 1950s.
Available...
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#handmade #art #victoriataxco #eagle #brooch #sterling #copper #metalescasados #mexicanmodernism
A striking pair of Stella Popowski handmade sterling silver and stone inlay Mexican modernist earrings c. 1950s.
Available...
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#handmade #sterlingsilver #modernist #earrings #mexicansilver #mexicanmodernism #midcenturymexico #stellapopowski #taxco #wearableart #art
A couple Mexican modernist circa 1950s jewelry offerings by Miguel Melendez of Taxco in my shop right now.
Available...
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#miguelmelendeztaxco #handmade #modernistjewelry #mexicanmodernism #mexicansilver #silverjewelry #modernsilver #vintagemodern #wearableart #art
The design employs his 'onix negro' and 'mosaico azteca' inlay techniques to form two opposing 'hands'. One hand is primarily black onyx with a circle of azurmalachite inlay in the palm, and the other hand is the reverse primarily azurmalachite with a circle of onyx in the palm. The size, the brilliant color, the striking surrealist hand design, the rarity of this design. It's a masterpiece from his final few years! Materials: bronze, onyx, azurmalachite mosaic inlay The only example of this design that I have seen. Chato was greatly influenced by the modern art movements of his time including cubism and surrealism, and this design shows his fascination with the human hand. Marked "Los Castillo Taxco" and design number "11" at back.
A very large Chato Castillo design bronze belt buckle for Los Castillo circa 1970 - measures 4.5" across by 3" tall!
#loscastillotaxco #chatocastillodesign #beltbuckle #modernism #midcenturymexico #handmade #jewelry #jewelrydesign #mexicandesign #design #vintagemodern #mexicanmodernism #art #hand
Striking Mexican modernist cufflinks by Tono of Taxco circa 1960s.
Available...
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#handmade #modernism #mexicanmodernism #mexicansilver #tonotaxco #taxcosilver #mexicandesign #mcm #midcenturymexico #cufflinks #modernistcufflinks #metalescasados #piedranegra #design
A colorful Los Castillo sterling silver and 'mosaico azteca' stone inlay modernist ring designed by Chato Castillo c. 1950.
#loscastillotaxco #chatocastillodesign #taxco #mexicansilver #mexicanmodernism #midcenturymexico #silver #mosaicoazteca #stoneinlay #ring #modernistjewelry #wearableart #art
Annette Nancarrow bronze & pre-Columbian green stone Mexican modernist cocktail ring - measures 1" diameter at top, rises almost 1” above the finger, adjustable size band presently about a size 9.5 US!
Available...
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#annettenancarrow #mexicanmodernism #ring #art
Two photos of artist/designer Annette Nancarrow - amongst her pre-Columbian art collection, and wearing a Mexican 'skull' dance mask circa 1940s.
#annettenancarrow #artist #designer #jewelry #jewelrydesign #mexicanmodernism #midcenturymexico #handmade #precolumbianart #wearableart #art #sculpture
Annette Nancarrow bronze & pre-Columbian green stone Mexican modernist cocktail ring circa 1940s - measures 1.25" diameter, adjustable band presently a size 9.5 US!
Available...
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#annettenancarrow #hechoenmexico #mexicanmodernism #precolumbianjade #wearableart #art
Although Chato Castillo of Los Castillo invented the 'pluma azteca' (Aztec Feathers) jewelry-making technique of embedding brightly colored feathers in resin and setting it in silver in the early 1950s, by the 1980s there were several Mexican designers and silversmiths that had appropriated the technique for their own designs. This is a great example of exactly that! Vividly colored bird feathers embedded in clear resin resembling 'plique a jour' enamel, and set in a sterling frame with geometric cutouts! A vivid vintage 1980s handmade 'pluma azteca' sterling silver resin and colored bird feathers abstract Mexican modernist design brooch pin. Although Chato Castillo of Los Castillo invented the 'pluma azteca' (Aztec Feathers) jewelry-making technique of embedding brightly colored feathers in resin and setting it in silver in the early 1950s, by the 1980s there were several Mexican designers and silversmiths that had appropriated the technique for their own designs. This is a great example of exactly that! Vividly colored bird feathers embedded in clear resin resembling 'plique a jour' enamel, and set in a sterling frame with geometric cutouts! Measures 2-1/2" wide by 1" tall by 1/8" thick, and weighs a hefty 23.3 grams total. Marked at back "Sterling Mexico". Excellent vintage condition.
A vivid vintage 1980s handmade ‘pluma azteca’ (Aztec Feathers) sterling silver resin feathers Mexican modernist geometric design brooch - measures 2.5” wide!
Available...
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#handmade #mexicansilver #plumaazteca #mexicanmodernism #brooch #mexicanjewelry6 #wearableart
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes! This cigarette box was made by the Los Castillo workshop in Taxco circa 1970s. It is composed of malachite and azurite 'mosaico azteca' stone inlay over silver and copper 'metales casados' metalworking in the lid. The bottom section of the box is Mexican redwood with a silver frame. Marked 'Handwrought' 'Los Castillo' and 'Mexico'. It measures 7-3/8'W X 3-1/2''D X 1-3/8"T and weighs 1lb.8oz. A Chato Castillo design for the family workshop Los Castillo in Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico.
An iconic Los Castillo handmade silver wood and stone inlay 'smoking' box designed by Chato Castillo c.1970s
#handmade #loscastillotaxco #mexicansilver #mosaicoazteca #metalescasados #smoking #box #mcm #midcenturymexico #modernism #mexicanmodernism #hechoenmexico #taxcosilver #chatocastillodesign
Painted in 1923 by Mexican artist Abraham Ángel, this oil painting places modern femininity at a threshold between inside and outside as well as tradition and change. A young woman with warm coffee-toned skin sits with quiet self-assurance. Her eyes look intently sideways to our right ... steady, alert, and unflinching. She has short, neatly bob-styled dark hair, and her features are simplified with clear outlines and smooth planes of color. Small earrings frame her face, and a long necklace drops to her chest, adding a deliberate sense of personal style. She wears a patterned dress with short sleeves. The fabric is a bright, warm peach tone punctuated by small repeating marks. Her hands rest together at her lap, one gently crossing the other, creating a composed, calm gesture. Behind her, a large window divided into panes becomes a second “portrait” with sky and landscape like panels in a story. Beyond the glass, hills rise in simplified curves, a pale road or river cuts through the scene, and small houses and trees appear in tidy, flattened shapes. The space feels both domestic and expansive. The woman’s cropped hair, direct stare, and fashionable dress align with a decade when more women in Mexico were seeking education and work beyond the home. The portrait doesn’t sentimentalize that shift, it embodies it. The window operates as a social frame: she is presented as someone who belongs to public life even while seated in a private setting. In choosing to center women who could be read as defying expectations, Ángel may also be signaling his own relationship to social norms when he was living semi-openly with Manuel Rodríguez Lozano while building a bold, personal style shaped by the era’s avant-garde circles. The humble support (cardboard) and the crisp, flattened forms strengthen the sense of immediacy. This is not a distant academic ideal, but a contemporary person. She is watching, present, and fully allowed to look elsewhere.
“La chica de la ventana” (The Girl in the Window) by Abraham Ángel (Mexican) - Oil on cardboard / 1923 - Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico City, México) #WomenInArt #AbrahamÁngel #AbrahamAngel #Ángel #MuseoDeArteModerno #art #artText #arte #MexicanArt #MexicanArtist #MexicanModernism #PortraitofaWoman
A super rare one of a kind vintage 1950s handmade two-tone 14K white and yellow gold and lavender jade geometric Mexican modernist cross design necklace by Enrique Ledesma of Taxco. Incredibly rare and no doubt unique, entirely handmade, and an outstanding example of the modernist design of Ledesma! I've only seen a couple other pieces of gold jewelry by Ledesma in my 45+ year career, and this is by far the best of the bunch! The lavender jade is natural untreated jadeite jade of the highest quality and color! Ledesma studied painting and sculpture before starting his career in Taxco working for Spratling at Las Delicias, Los Castillo, and Hector Aguilar before opening his own workshop in the early 1950s. The pendant measures 2-3/4" long by 1-3/8" wide, and it weighs 8.8 grams total. The lavender jade stone at center measures 1-1/2" long by 1/2" wide, and is of exceptional quality and very unusual shape and size! The pendant is marked "Ledesma 14K" on the bail as shown in my photos. I've matched the pendant by Ledesma with an American 14k gold neckring from the same period. The neckring measures 4" by 4-1/4" inner diameters when closed, but can be worn open when it will fit up to a 17" neck. The 14k yellow gold neckring weighs 9.6 grams total, and is marked "14K". Excellent vintage condition.
Likely a one of a kind two-tone 14K gold and natural lavender jade Mexican modernist cross pendant by Enrique Ledesma of Taxco.
Available...
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#handmade #midcenturymexico #mexicanmodernism #enriqueledesmataxco #taxco #mexicanjewelry #wearableart #art #jewelry #cross
Designed by Stella Popowski for Los Castillo circa 1955. Sterling backs and findings, with brass front surrounding inlaid black onyx and turquoise. The inlay technique called 'onix negro' was made famous by Los Castillo and was invented by Chato Castillo. The larger measures 3.5" tall by 1-7/8" widest point. The smaller measures 1.75" tall by 1.25" widest. Both are marked "Onix Negro" and design "046P". The larger is also marked "Los Castillo Taxco" in a circle around the Eagle 15 mark, and also "Hecho en Mexico". I've seen the larger example a number of times both like here as a pendant, and also as a brooch, but this is the only time that I've seen the smaller version. I'm wondering if it was intended to be a charm on a bracelet perhaps? Interesting that the two pieces have the same design number. They are obviously related, but different enough to have their own numbers, I'd think.
Two examples of design number 046P by Stella Popowski for Los Castillo c. 1955.
#loscastillotaxco #chatocastillotaxco #popowskidesign #onixnegro #mexicansilver #mexicanjewelry #mexicanmodernism #mexicandesign #taxco #taxcosilver #metalescasados #cross #catholic #pendant #wearableart #art #jewelry
A massive vintage 1980s 90s signed handmade sterling silver and black onyx Mexican modernist brooch from Taxco. Entirely handmade likely one of a kind piece of modernist wearable art from Mexico! Hard to photograph due to extremely reflective polished silver surfaces throughout, and this brooch is light-years better looking in person than shown in my photographs! Measures 4-3/8" long by 1-1/4" wide and weighs 14.6 grams total. Marked at back as shown with Taxco silver registry maker mark, "TS-79", also "925 Mexico". Excellent vintage condition.
A huge signed Mexican modernist sterling silver and black onyx geometric design brooch from Taxco circa 1980 - measures 4-3/8" long!
Available...
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#handmade #sterlingsilver #mexicanmodernism #modernistjewelry #mexicansilver #taxco #1980s #brooch #wearableart #art
Bailarines (Dancers)
1949
polychrome terracotta
Luis Ortiz Monasterio
Mexico
#sculpture #handmade #mexico #modernart #modernsculpture #midcenturymexico #mexicanmodernism #luisortizmonasterio #polychrome #terracotta #bailarines #dancers #circa1949 #art
A rare and very early design by Chato Castillo for Los Castillo in Taxco - the letter opener is fabricated from heavy gauge sterling silver, and has a geometric design inlay of malachite and black onyx in the handle. The only example of this design that I have seen in my 45+ years collecting the works of the Los Castillo atelier!
Solid sterling silver letter opener with malachite and onyx geometric inlay designed by Chato for Los Castillo circa 1945
NFS.
#handmade #loscastillotaxco #chatodesign #letteropener #geometricdesign #chatocastillo #midcenturymexico #mexicanmodernism #mexicandesign #taxco #taxcosilver #mexicansilver
Well, it's Sunday today, but still appropriate :)
#mexicanmodernism #rufinotamayo #mexico #mexicanart #circa1977 #modernart #modernism #vintagemodern
"The Flower Carrier" displays a Mexican peasant man, painfully struggling on his knees, while he is carrying a basket of flowers on his back. A woman stands behind, trying to help him with the weight. At first glance, one could wonder how these pink, delicate flowers could weigh so much. But the emphasis given by the artist to the oversized bucket, the boldness of its colors, the asymmetrical balance, leave no room for doubt: the man is carrying an unbearable burden, not a bouquet of flowers. The work represents one of Rivera's favorite subjects and his affection for underclass people, campesinos, and vendors of Mexico. The artist openly supported the cause of Mexican Revolution with his large, public murals, and he always expressed his solidarity to common people, þroudly identifying himself with them and their unfair struggles. In this painting, painted into masonite, Rivera celebrates an archetype, not a real person with his own individual features. The cargador wears white, traditional clothes and a recognizable sombrero, but we cannot see his face because the hat covers it. He is the symbol the bigger cause of humble persons, and the aim of the Mexican painter is to elevate their status, bringing justice to their dignity and pride.
The Flower Carrier by Diego Rivera, 1935, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - SFMOMA (California)
#ArtHistory #ModernArt #Modernism #MexicanModernism
A sterling silver with 'metales casados' black onyx inlay and a mottled brown stone modernist brooch designed by Stella Popowski for Los Castillo in Taxco circa 1950s.
#loscastillotaxco #handmade #modernistjewelry #mexicanmodernism #stellapopowski #design #hechoenmexico #mexicansilver #taxco #art
A superb vintage 1950s 60s handmade mixed metals silver bronze and red wood on a dark wood base Mexican modernist La Virgen de Guadalupe wall hanging art by the Emaus workshop of Cuernavaca Mexico also known as Emaus and the Talleres Monasticos. Made entirely by hand using silver and bronze overlaid on a rectangular dark wood base, and the 'face' 'hands' and 'feet' of the figure are carved from redwood. Designed by Ernesto Paulsen Camba (1925-2006) who was a Mexican modernist sculptor/architect/designer, and who provided designs for the Emaus workshop in the 1950s. His architectural and design work was a major part of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, and he was a contemporary of Clara Porset, Van Beuren and Shoemaker, among others. Probably one of the most stunning pieces of religious art that I've seen by Emaus! Measures 10" tall by 4.75" wide by just under 1" thickest point. Has a carved inlet at back for hanging, and still retains original label and price tag as shown. Excellent vintage condition.
La Virgen de Guadalupe
mixed metals (sterling, brass), wood
circa 1950s
Emaus workshop
designed by Ernesto Paulsen Camba
Cuernavaca, Mexico
Available...
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#virgendeguadalupe #emaus #mexicanmodernism #religiousart #hechoenmexico #modernism #vintagemodern #sculpture
An incredible one of a kind vintage 1960s handmade 'metales casados' (married metals) and pre-Columbian ancient pre-Columbian carved green stone Mayan ear spool Mexican modernist bracelet with dangles - designed by Chato Castillo, and produced by the Los Castillo workshop - from a series by Los Castillo of similar bracelets with ancient ear spools and dangles - each in the series is unique and one of a kind, but this bracelet is an exceptional example with a dragon emerging from the center of the ancient green stone carving - marked as shown in the photos "Los Castillo Taxco" in a circle above "Hecho en Mexico" - fits up to about a 7.5" wrist and measures over 4" at front from top to bottom as shown!
A unique one of a kind vintage 1960s Los Castillo Taxco handmade 'metales casados' (married metals) and ancient pre-Columbian green stone ear spool Mexican modernist bracelet with dangles.
#loscastillotaxco #mexicanmodernism #taxco #mexicansilver #chatocastillodesign #handmade #oneofakind #bracelet
Two Mexican modernist handmade sterling silver necklaces circa 1980.
Available...
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#mexicansilver #handmade #sterlingsilver #necklace #jewelrydesign #mexicanmodernism #mexicandesign #modernism #moderndesign #modernistjewelry #wearableart #hechoenmexico #art
A huge vintage 1960s 70s handmade mixed metals (copper brass and silver) Mexican modernist Fish Bones design pin/pendant. Big and beautiful striking design that makes a statement! Measures 3-1/2" by 1-5/8", and weighs half an ounce or about 15 grams total. Unmarked, and no doubt an artisan possibly one of a kind piece. I'm guessing from Mexico, and probably originally had a hang-tag or paper label which would have been removed by the original owner. In any case, an outstanding piece, and a great addition to your collection. In excellent vintage condition.
A huge vintage 1960s 70s handmade mixed metals Mexican modernist brutalist Fish Bones design pin/pendant - measures 3.5" across!
Available...
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#mexicanmodernism #handmade #mixedmetals #hechoenmexico #fishbones #pin #pendant #modernistjewelry #brutalistjewelry #art
The History of Medicine in Mexico: The People’s Demand for Better Health by
Diego Rivera, 1953, Hospital de la Raza (Mexico City, Mexico)
#ArtHistory #ModernArt #MexicanModernism #Allegory
For more on this mural, see www.academia.edu/90146416/Die...
An unusual and very rare vintage 1950s signed handmade sterling silver Mexican modernist necklace with matching earrings designed by Reveriano Castillo for his workshop Reveri. Entirely handmade statement necklace constructed of solid sterling silver by this talented Taxco silversmith and designer! Castillo was an apprentice in the Spratling workshop until 1939 at which time he left to work for Hector Aguilar at the Taller Borda. In 1952 he and his wife Maria opened their workshop Reveri, and they were in business until the early 1990s. This is an early and outstanding example of the best of their mid-century modernist design! The necklace measures 16” wearable with a drop at front of 2-1/4”. The earrings measure 1-1/2” by 3/4”. The set weighs 36.4 grams total. The pieces are marked as shown, “Reveri Sterling Taxco Made in Mexico” along with the Eagle 40 and design number 188. Excellent vintage condition.
Mexican modernist sterling silver necklace and earrings by Reveriano Castillo circa 1950s.
Available...
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#mexicansilver #mexicanmodernism #modernistjewelry #reverianocastillo #taxco #taxcosilver #mexicandesign #hechoenmexico #handmade #sterlingsilver #modernsilver
A huge and very rare vintage 1980s handmade metales casados and mosaico azteca Mexican modernist pre-Columbian Hunting Scene decorative tazza tray designed by Antonio Castillo for his family firm Los Castillo in Taxco Mexico. A highly stylized Hunting Scene in metales casados (married metals) and mosaico azteca (mosaic stone inlay) set in a silver-plated tazza tray foundation. I'm certain that this incredibly beautiful object was intended to be an artwork for proud display rather than a utilitarian item for everyday use, and it looks amazing standing up in a plate stand as shown in my photos! Designed by and perhaps even made by Antonio Castillo in the last quarter of his life for his family workshop Los Castillo in Taxco. I've only seen one other of this design ever in my 45+ years in the business, and that tray was in predominantly green stone not the blue of this example! Measures 15-1/2" diameter by 2-1/2" high at rim, and weighs a substantial 6 pounds and 6 ounces prior to packing. Marked at back as shown in my photos, design number "777", also "Plateado Hecho en Mexico Los Castillo Taxco TA-01". There is substantial tarnish to the silver-plate at back which I haven't touched as I think it looks great dark, and in any case it doesn't show at all when on display. Excellent vintage condition.
A very large Los Castillo handmade 'metales casados' and 'mosaico azteca' Mexican modernist pre-Columbian Hunting Scene tray artwork designed by Antonio Castillo circa 1980.
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#loscastillotaxco #antoniocastillotaxco #handmade #mexicanmodernism #oneofakind #art #taxco
Painted soon after Mexican-born, American artist Emilio Amero left Seattle for a professorship in Oklahoma, this head distills his fusion of Mexican modernism and the Pacific Northwest’s search for distilled form. Amero, trained in Mexico City and once an assistant to Diego Rivera, often drew on ancient Mesoamerican sculpture with mask-like planes and heavy eyelids which echo that lineage while avoiding caricature. In this tempera on panel painting, the artist depicts a young woman’s copper-rose face modeled in smooth planes and her wide, almond eyes unfocused beneath a rolled, turban-like yellow headscarf. She lifts her right hand toward her cheek, fingers bent as if testing the surface of her skin. Light from the left warms the brow and nose bridge, while the ear and jaw sink into shadow. A deep red with pale mortar lines brick wall is behind her head with a pale band of sky resting above it. Her sturdy-to-the-neck shirt is mustard yellow. The simplified features, polished textures, and compressed space make the figure feel monumental, intimate, and contemplative all at once. In Seattle (1941–1943), Amero taught at the University of Washington and the Cornish School, shaping a circle of modernists; by 1946 he was building a renowned print workshop at the University of Oklahoma. Here, the quiet gesture and brick backdrop suggest urban interiority rather than muralist spectacle, show Amero’s range beyond lithography and fresco into psychologically charged portraiture.
"Head of a Woman" aka "The Gesture" by Emilio Amero (Mexican-American) – Tempera on panel / 1947 – Seattle Art Museum (Washington) #WomenInArt #art #artText #artwork #EmilioAmero #Amero #SeattleArtMuseum #arte #pintura #MexicanModernism #PacificNorthwestModernism #Tempera #Modernism #ModernArt
A singular vintage 1970s one of a kind handmade sterling silver and druzy pyrite Mexican modernist cocktail ring by Citlal Castillo. Citlal is the niece of Antonio Castillo of Los Castillo, and the cousin of Emilia Castillo, and quite a talented designer in her own right! An entirely handmade sterling silver modernist cocktail ring featuring several bead-tipped wires at top that reach around and grasp the druzy pyrite stone! Such a unique ring, and no doubt a one of a kind piece of wearable art from mid century Mexico! Adjustable ring band presently about a size 10 US, but really will fit just about any finger. The ring measures just under 1" long at top, rises 5/8" above the finger, and weighs a hefty 17.3 grams total. Marked inside band, "Citlal" with her logo of two opposing letter C's that look like flowers or grasping hands, "925" and "Hecho en Mexico". From the estate of a very successful business woman in the publishing industry from NYC who traveled extensively and had exquisite taste! Excellent vintage condition.
Citlal Castillo is the niece of Antonio Castillo of Los Castillo in Taxco - a handmade sterling silver and druzy pyrite modernist ring by Citlal Castillo c. 1970s.
Available...
www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...
#citlalcastillo #loscastillo #taxco #mexicansilver #mexicanmodernism #ring #modernism
