Antonio Pineda (1919-2009). A Mexican Modernist silver bangle, of tapering torque design with...

Antonio Pineda (1919-2009). A Mexican Modernist silver bangle, of tapering torque design with concave stripe and bead decoration, marked sterling Mexico, silver 970, maker's mark, width 1.4-2.9cm

Provenance: a private London collection

Antonio Pineda, born in 1919 in Taxco, is considered a Mexican national treasure for his role as a preeminent proponent in the establishment of the Mexican Modernist Aesthetic.
Studying painting and sculpture at the Open Air School of Taxco, he was made an apprentice to silversmith William Spratling at the age of 14. In 1941, aged 22, he opened a workshop and became part of the group of talented Mexican designers who developed the distinctive ‘Taxco School’.
Pineda achieved international recognition in 1944, when he was part of an international exposition in San Francisco held at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. His collection of around 80 pieces was bought entirely by Richard Gump, the heir to Gump’s, a renowned retail establishment. Their commercial relationship lasted over a decade, and established the Mexican silversmith in the North American mainstream. His bold designs and inventive use of gemstones were an incontrovertible commercial success, with his two workshops employing over 160 craftspeople at the height of his career in 1951.
His jewellery takes a notable influence from the work of Mexico City painter/silversmith Valentin Viduaretta. Following an apprenticeship with the artist in 1939, Vinduaretta’s design ethos coalesced with Pineda’s own style of bold and spare pieces. His work is almost architectural in design, with hollow constructions and innovative joinings, catches and closures. His work can be considered the most technically evocative of the Taxco designers operating between the 40s and 70s, with the system of joinings allowing his thick jewellery designs to elegantly and perfectly fit the human form.
He died in 2009, one year after the Fowler Museum’s exhibition Silver Seduction: The Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda (August 24 2008 - March 15 2009) which brought together over 200 of his pieces to celebrate his illustrious career and contributions to creating a Mexican artistic national identity.