Margot de Taxco Champlevé Serpent Necklace and Bracelet Set in Green
 
This serpent necklace and bracelet designed by Margot de Taxco is one of the most astounding pieces of silver jewelry I have ever come across.

Recently I learned of Margot Van Voorhies, known as Margot de Taxco, and the silversmiths of the Mexican city of Taxco.
 
As a result, I dove into the history and discovered that in the 1930s and 40s, five grand silver studios rose to prominence there and survived until the 1970s. During the 1970s the passing of their founders saw these grand studios fail, and the dispersal of the artisans saw the silver industry in Taxco change dramatically. The studios were replaced with multiple one-man shops and without oversight, the quality of Taxco silver dropped significantly and became far more commercial.
 
Margot Van Voorhies began designing silver jewelry in the late 1940s after marrying a silversmith and moving to Taxco from her birthplace in San Francisco.
 
I will not go into a long-winded and enthusiastic dissertation on what I have discovered, much as I am tempted -- but I will say that Margot de Taxco created some of the most significant designs to issue from the city during its golden period.
 
Margot passed away in 1972, but her legacy is not one to be forgotten anytime soon.
 
In the first moment I saw these pieces, I became a fan, and it genuinely takes people’s breath away when they open the box and see them for the first time. Janice, on seeing them, immediately claimed them as hers and it took some fancy talking to dissuade her and put them on offer. Honestly, that battle may not be won yet.
 
They are large pieces which defy description and command attention. The silverwork and the enameling are exquisite and the use of colour is masterful.
 
This necklace and bracelet rise far above being common jewellery and rise into an unapologetic expression of the highest example of a master silversmith’s art.
 
If you purchase this, I know it will be the foundation of your collection of Margot de Taxco.  Or perhaps you are already an acolyte. I know I am.
 
This is design #5554 and can be found on page 138, 139 and 175 in "Margot Van Voorhies, The Art of Mexican Enamelwork" by Penny C. Morrill.
 
Cheers,
David Charles Grainger