Héctor Aguilar
Frog Box (Caja con rana)circa 1940-1945

Not on view

Small polished silver lidded box with cylindrical body, incised leaf-pattern bands, and two rough amethyst stones set in a wire mount on the domed lid

Close-up of a polished silver surface showing three stamped maker's marks: a rectangular cartouche reading "TAXCO," an oval with a monogram, and a rounded rectangle reading "940."

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Frog Box (Caja con rana)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: circa 1940-1945
Medium: Silver, amethyst
Dimensions: 1 3/4 × 3 1/4 in. (4.45 × 8.26 cm); diameter: 3 1/4 in. (8.26 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California
Accession Number: M.2013.4.19a-b
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: A frog carved from an amethyst stone perches on the lid of this round box. Like other Mexican silver designers, Héctor Aguilar often used amethyst—an inexpensive and readily available local material—to enhance his works. Aguilar’s nephew remembered summer afternoons searching for stone and pottery fragments near the family hacienda to integrate into his uncle’s designs, including pieces of amethyst. Aguilar was also an avid collector of Mesoamerican art and drew inspiration from ancient motifs and symbols, such as the frog (see M.2010.115.121, a Maya ceramic vessel in LACMA’s collection with a similarly angled frog inside).

Aguilar’s fascination with ancient art and history led to his work as a tour guide, which turned out to be a fateful profession. He met his future wife, Lois Smith Cartwright, while she was traveling in Mexico in 1935; the following year, the newlyweds visited Taxco, a center of the silver industry. Aguilar had previously brought tour groups to William Spratling’s renowned Taller de Las Delicias (established in 1935). Spratling subsequently hired Aguilar to manage the workshop before the latter forged out on his own. Aguilar and Cartwright founded the Taller Borda in 1939, and their workshop became known for the high quality of its elaborate works.

Rachel Kaplan

2025
Copyright: © artist or artist's estate

Héctor Aguilar
Frog Box (Caja con rana)circa 1940-1945

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Frog Box (Caja con rana)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: circa 1940-1945
Medium: Silver, amethyst
Dimensions: 1 3/4 × 3 1/4 in. (4.45 × 8.26 cm); diameter: 3 1/4 in. (8.26 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California
Accession Number: M.2013.4.19a-b
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: A frog carved from an amethyst stone perches on the lid of this round box. Like other Mexican silver designers, Héctor Aguilar often used amethyst—an inexpensive and readily available local material—to enhance his works. Aguilar’s nephew remembered summer afternoons searching for stone and pottery fragments near the family hacienda to integrate into his uncle’s designs, including pieces of amethyst. Aguilar was also an avid collector of Mesoamerican art and drew inspiration from ancient motifs and symbols, such as the frog (see M.2010.115.121, a Maya ceramic vessel in LACMA’s collection with a similarly angled frog inside).

Aguilar’s fascination with ancient art and history led to his work as a tour guide, which turned out to be a fateful profession. He met his future wife, Lois Smith Cartwright, while she was traveling in Mexico in 1935; the following year, the newlyweds visited Taxco, a center of the silver industry. Aguilar had previously brought tour groups to William Spratling’s renowned Taller de Las Delicias (established in 1935). Spratling subsequently hired Aguilar to manage the workshop before the latter forged out on his own. Aguilar and Cartwright founded the Taller Borda in 1939, and their workshop became known for the high quality of its elaborate works.

Rachel Kaplan

2025