1950s Cisneros / Spratling Silver Buckle Bracelet

Miguel Cisneros Arce (Mexican, active mid 20th century) and William Spratling (American/Mexico expatriate, 1900-1967). A gorgeous William Spratling design sterling silver bracelet signed MCA for Miguel Cisneros Arce who worked with Spratling from 1955 until Spratling's death in 1967. Following Spratling's death, Arce opened up his own shop - Sucesores de William Spratling - at the ranch in Taxco el Viejo, and contintued to create Spratling designed works for thirteen more years. A beautiful piece of wearable art crafted by Miguel Cisneros from a William Spratling design! Weight: 82.9 grams. Silver quality: 96% silver. Size: 9.25" L x .5" W (23.5 cm x 1.3 cm) buckle is .75" W (1.9 cm)

William Spratling was an American expatriate artist, author, and entrepreneur best known for his work as a silversmith and designer who revitalized Taxco, Mexico's silver industry in the early to mid 20th century. Spratling made his initial visit to Mexico in 1926 and returned each summer for the next several years. Finally, in 1929, Spratling actually moved to Mexico to be an expatriate, becoming an active member of the vibrant artistic circles of Mexico. Spratling promoted the art of none other than Diego Rivera to New York galleries which led to Rivera's participation in the first exhibition of Mexican visual culture held in the United States, funded by the Carnegie Institute, that opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In Mexico, Spratling took notice of the Taxco's silver-mining history and opened a workshop called the Taller de las Delicias, which translates to "Factory of Delights". Years later, he would write: "Nineteen-thirty-one was a notable year in modern Mexican silversmithing. A young silversmith from Iguala named Artemio Navarrete went to Taxco to work for a small silver shop, founded with the germ of an idea, where Artemio, as a nucleus, began to form silversmiths. The present writer, encouraged by his friends Moises Saenz, Dwight Morrow and Diego Rivera, had set up that little shop called 'Las Delicias.'"

Penny Chittim Morrill, Ph.D., who co-authored :Mexican Silver: 20th Century Hand-wrought Jewelry & Silver" with art dealer Carole Berk is the primary authority on Spratling's work. Morrill was the guest curator for the 2002 traveling exhibition entitled, "William Spratling and the Mexican Silver Renaissance: Maestros de Plata," organized by the San Diego Museum of Art. In her catalogue essay, Morrill stated, "In establishing silver as an artistic medium, what Spratling achieved was a delicate balance, a synthesis of abstract tendencies in the existent folk art tradition and in contemporary fine art, resulting in a visualization of concepts and ideas. As importantly, the Taller de las Delicias, became the paradigm for other silver designers to follow. Las Delicias was a community in which imagination and innovation were fostered and encouraged as the men learned the art of silversmithing while producing for profit. In the hierarchy of the workshop, these silversmiths advanced according to their ability, enthusiasm, and technical expertise."

Provenance: ex-private Moore collection, Denver, Colorado, USA, acquired prior to 1990

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#168365
Condition Report: Markings include "MCA" for Miguel Cisneros Arce, "925" to indicate sterling silver, and "Mexico". Minor scuffs and age wear, but overall very good and the buckle still works.