Signed Mexican Modernist newest Amethyst Brooch//Mid Century Modern Sterling Gemstone Pin//Taxco 925//Vintage Amethyst Brooch//1940s Silver Brooch

Mexico meets Modernism -- this brooch fits into the jewelry worlds of both! The quality of Mexican metalwork, with its Aztec origins and later influence by Spanish artisans, is world renowned, especially that produced in Taxco, where the best artisans opened their “tallers” (workshops.) Given this history of top-notch metal crafts, Mexico stood alongside America and Scandinavia in the Mid-Century Modernism movement in jewelry, with the work of masters like Hector Aguilar, Antonio Pineda, and artists trained or inspired by William Spratling's Taller de las Delicias. The handmade pieces of that era evidence a quality of craftsmanship and design that you rarely find anymore.

In this Taxco brooch, you see the creative excellence that marks good Mexican modernist pieces from the heyday of that era newest, 1940s-1960s. The materials, a combination of sterling silver (a nice weight, not flimsy) and amethyst (here, a lovely cabochon) help quickly identify this piece as Mexican (along with the hallmarks). Yet, what makes this brooch more unusual than those depicting traditional Mexican motifs, flowers, and the like, is how the abstract design evokes the biomorphic, organic shapes seen in the work of great mid-century American Studio artists (featured in the book, the “Messengers of Modernism.”) I cannot identify the maker's mark “ARJ,” but let it remain a mystery! Whether you love vintage or contemporary, Mexican or Modernist, elegant or funky, or perhaps just a great-looking amethyst brooch, this piece is for you!

NOTE: Items in photographs other than brooch are for display only.

Size: 3” x 1”

Details: Signed “Sterling Taxco 925 ARJ” and illegible symbol (eagle mark?); sterling, amethyst

Condition: Excellent vintage. Normal surface wear visible with magnification, but eye clean. Stone has natural inclusions.


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