Mexican Jewelry

The book is a little old but has a lot of ideas and pictures (though in black and white) it gives a good idea about Mexican jewelry from pre-colombian times to about the 50's.

Most books on Mexican jewelry focus on contemporary silver jewelry or vintage jewelry made in Taxco, the strength of this book is that it also covers less well known Mexican jewelry making traditions. There is information about jewelry made in Patzcuaro, Oaxaca, Toluca, Chiapas, Guerrero etc as well as information about pre-columbian jewelry and European / Spanish inspired jewelry from 16th to 18th centuries. There is also an entire chapter devoted to religious jewelry as well. Unfortunately, the illustrations are in black and white - however, given the sparseness of information about most regional Mexican jewelry, any reproductions are valuable to those interested in this topic.

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...