In the 60s and 70s, because of higher taxes and increasing demands from the silversmiths’ union, running a silver workshop became so expensive that most major studios were forced into bankruptcy. Salas was a master craftsman and brilliant designer in his own right, but some of the studio’s later pieces have pared-down designs that reflect tough economic times. His pieces are marked Matl Salas or (after 1970) MS-12. They changed through the decades.Īfter Poulat died in 1960, her designs were produced by her nephew Ricardo Salas, who had worked with her since boyhood. Start with the web site Trocadero. I’ve met some great dealers there who are passionate about this stuff and happy to educate shoppers whether or not they buy. If you get serious about Mex, you’ll also want to know something about hallmarks-some pieces are outright fakes-and there’s a book for that. To get a feel for this market, do some looking before you buy-looking’s the fun part, anyhow. But the price should be lower than for a genuine Matl. To draw your eye in a web search, a dealer might tag a piece as “Matl-esque” or “Matl-inspired.” Which is completely Kosher. Which brings me to another tough truth: When shopping for vintage Mexican silver, especially from dealers who don’t specialize in it, things may not be what they seem. It’s a beautiful object even if it is a knock-off. In fact, I first encountered her aesthetic in the hand mirror at right, which has a hallmark from a studio I’d never heard of. I won’t say stealing her designs, but it’s very clear she inspired a whole lot of silversmiths. Poulat launched Matl in 1934, and by the 40s there was an enormous demand for her work-enough so that other studios started riffing on her designs. Matl-inspired hand mirror, signed “Barreto” But it’s the designs themselves that wow me-opulent, exuberant, whimsical, “intensely Mexican and intensely her own,” as William Spratling put it. All those tiny silver spirals were fashioned by hand, the stones hand set, the pyramidal amethysts perfectly matched. Obviously the workmanship is exceptional. It’s 50s Mexican silver, and like the bracelet in last week’s post, it’s by Matilde Poulat, who signed her pieces “Matl.” Our Matilde, she be pricey. When I wear the piece shown here, I’m pretty sure nobody sees the neck. Dreamer that I am, I figure people will look at the necklace and maybe not notice the neck. This has happened to me, but it hasn’t stopped me. If the title of this post puts you in mind of Harry Belafonte, you may be old enough to have learned one of the tougher truths of jewelry buying: By the time you can afford an expensive necklace, you may no longer have the neck for it.
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