Mexican Jewelry

Rating:
Summary: This is a primer; a supplement to a Taxco library
Review: The authors wrote this before the move to collect became as advanced as at present. There photos are b & w and they are plentiful for this reprint - i have not seen the original; and the text is short and to the point about a few artists. The preamble about Mexican silver antedating the Taxco movment is enlightening and very nicely done. Once can never have enough photos to have an appreciation and this little book adds to one's library of Taller and Taxco and is most welcome even if not a giant or in color.

Rating:
Summary: A good intro or addition to any library on Mexican silver
Review: Though this book is slightly dated and lacks the lavish illustrations of some newer coffee-table treatises, it provides a good, basic overview of Taxco silverwork and traditional Mexican jewelry. (It is interesting to note that these authors are often quoted and cited in the newer works.) The book was written in the early '60's, just at the apogee of Taxco's productivity.

As a youngster, I spent many hours in Taxco, particularly in the talleres (workshops) of Hector Aguilar (Taller Borda) and the Castillo family, and have always been attracted to the diverse traditions of Mexican silver jewelry- from Michoacan, Oaxaca and elsewhere, including Taxco, which was extremely important in the renaissance of contemporary Mexican silver jewelry. The era of large talleres is largely over, with a very few still in existence. Much jewelry in Taxco today is made in tiny home workshops on contract, resulting in a decline of design and variety, not to mention the average workmanship.

This book is an excellent introduction, readable and intelligently written and illustrated, if limited in its scope and size due to the lack of supporting audience when it was written. I highly recommend it to those with an interest in Mexican jewelry and its traditions...