{"product_id":"estatefreshaustincom-1493","title":"Mid Century Margot De Taxco Sterling silver pin","description":"Mid Century Margot De Taxco Sterling silver pin. No damage or significant wear,\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;1.5\" x 1.75\" x 8.9 grams. -Anderas-\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Margot Van Voorhies was born in 1896 in San Francisco, California. By the time\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;she left her native country for good, she had survived the death of her father\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;in 1903, the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906, the loss of her mother at the\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;hands of a er in 1931 and the end of her first marriage in 1936.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Fortunately, a Mexican vacation changed the life of Margot Van Voorhies in ways\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;she could never have imagined. In 1937, forty-one-year-old divorcée Margot Van\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Voorhies left San Francisco on a trip to Mexico City. Fate threw her into the\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;path of Don Antonio Castillo, who took her to Taxco, a Mexican hotbed for the\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;design, crafting, and production of silver objects, in particular jewelry and\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;housewares.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Soon, Castillo would become Margot’s second husband. At the time, Castillo was\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;working for William Spratling, a pioneer in Mexican silversmithing. He brought\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Margot into the business as a designer, helping her to transform her paper\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;creations into three-dimensional forms in silver. In 1939, the pair, along with\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;other members of Castillo’s family, opened shop as Los Castillo Taller [Taller\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;is Spanish for “Workshop”], with Margot as the top designer.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;After ten years, the marriage between Castillo and Van Voorhies dissolved, as\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;did their professional association. Margot went on to open her own shop in 1948,\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;taking the name Margot de Taxco, by which she is best known today. Seven years\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;later, enamel was added to many of her pieces, and this is where Margot found\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;her legacy.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;At the peak of her career, Margot, who designed each piece herself, had two\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;dozen silversmiths and a dozen enamellists in her employ to execute her vision.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;The men performed the duties as silversmiths; the women did the enamel work,\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;using tiny brushes to bring the watercolor drawings to life. To ensure the\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;accurate rendering of her jewelry designs, she compiled a book of instructions\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;and drawings, detailing the construction and finishing of each. Margot attracted\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;talented craftsmen who later went on to cement their own reputations, such as\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Sigi Pineda, Miguel Melendez, and Melecio Rodriguez.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Many contemporary Hollywood celebrities were clients of Margot, including John\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Wayne and Lana Turner, who visited her shop every year.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Tragedy struck in the form of a fire in 1960. Forced to move her studio, she\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;never again regained her prior success, and the business folded in 1974. Margot\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;granted several of the silversmiths in her employ permission to use her molds to\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;create pieces on their own, in return for debt forgiveness. As a result, many of\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Margot’s pieces were re-created by silversmiths such as Jaimie Quiroz and\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Geronimo Fuentes, bearing their hallmark rather than hers.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Margot passed away in 1985. But her talent as a designer and her influence as an\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;artist have continued to gain recognition since the time of her death.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Margot’s shop produced some repousse silver (a technique where a raised or\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;relief design is hammered in from the reverse side of the piece). But she is\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;best known for her champlevé enamel work. Champlevé is created by carving,\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;etching, striking, or casting troughs or cells into the surface of a piece and\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;filling it with vitreous enamel. In Margot’s jewelry, the designs were\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;die-struck, a process that was detailed and critical to the final product.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Margot produced many suites that included necklaces, brooches, bracelets, and\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;earrings, as well as convertible jewelry. Margot de Taxco jewelry is recognized\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;for its elegance, femininity, and variety.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;There were many areas of influence that can be found in Margot’s work. Her fish\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;and wave motifs celebrated her love of Japanese art. The ornate swirls and\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;floral motifs were reminiscent of the Art Nouveau style. Mischievous\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;pre-Columbian figures were a recurring theme. Art Deco style ballerinas struck\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;graceful poses. Margot was also taken with Egyptian motifs and Mexican crafts.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Margot de Taxco pieces are distinguished by the stamp that includes her name,\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Eagle 16 (or Eagle 1, for her earlier works), along with a production number.\u0026lt;br\u0026gt;Issued by the government, the eagle stamp was a way to identify th","brand":"sale - www.estatefreshaustin.com Estate Fresh Austin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45204116996312,"sku":"16383432677_4C91","price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/6284\/7960\/files\/mid-century-margot-de-taxco-sterling-silver-pinestate-fresh-austin-613685.png?v=1757963703","url":"https:\/\/estatefreshaustin.com\/products\/estatefreshaustincom-1493","provider":"Estate Fresh Austin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}