**FIRM**

THE ARTIST: (September 22, 1900 – August 7, 1967)

Spratling was an American-born silver designer and artist & was best known for his influence on 20th century Mexican silver design. Spratling had much to do with how famous Taxco Mexico would later become & when we think "Taxco", 2 things come to mind & that's Spratling & Silver.

Having an artists eye for design & loving historical pasts, the highly charged political and social environment in Mexico after the revolution influenced Spratling's decision in 1931 to reestablish the silver industry in Taxco.Taxco was a traditional site of silver mines, but had no native silverworking industry.

Spratling began designing works in silver based primarily on pre-Columbian and traditional motifs, and hired local goldsmiths to produce those designs in Taxco.

Spratling was the primary designer for his workshop, Taller de las Delicias, and was insistent on the high quality of the materials and techniques used in production.

Talented artists shared in the creative dialogue with Spratling, transforming his design drawings into silver & this is when Spratling influenced the market by doing a 360 turnaround from everything having an old European design, to now having a very distinct Mexican vibe.

Spratling's use of an aesthetic vocabulary based on pre-Columbian art can be compared to the murals of Diego Rivera, in that both artists were involved in the creation of a new cultural identity for Mexico.

Primarily, Spratling's silver designs drew upon pre-conquest Mesoamerican motifs, with influence from other native and Western cultures. To many, his work served as an expression of Mexican nationalism, and gave Mexican artisans the freedom to create designs in non-European forms.

Because of his influence on the silver design industry in Mexico, Spratling is considered the "Father of Mexican Silver" and is the one to be applauded for putting Taxco on the map for some of the finest silver jewelry that the globe has ever seen.