Latin America, Mexico, Taxco, ca. mid-20th century CE. A beautiful pair of hand wrought brass, copper, and silverplated trays in the form of birds, made by the esteemed Los Castillo workshops of Taxco. Each stylized bird has a triangular head that elongates into a curled body with the concave, trapezoidal wings, and tail forming the serving bowls. The larger tray has a lapis and resin eye inlaid in the head, the beak is a copper tone, and the rest of the surface is brushed with golden or silver hues. The other bird has the opposite color scheme; copper toned body and golden beak, with a turquoise inlaid eye. The undersides of both are marked "LOS CASTILLO / TAXCO / HAND-WROUGHT/ HECHO EN MEXICO / 42." A charming example of creative Taxco metalwork by Los Castillo! Size of smaller tray: 8" L x 7.25" W (20.3 cm x 18.4 cm); larger: 12.25" L x 11" W (31.1 cm x 27.9 cm)
Provenance: ex-private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection
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#167240
Condition
Minor surface wear and scratches. Losses and wearing away of copper and golden toning. Chips and stable fissures to the stone eyes. Stamps are clearly marked on both.