Héctor Aguilar
Cascabeles (Bells) Necklace (Collar con cascabeles)circa 1940

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Cascabeles (Bells) Necklace (Collar con cascabeles)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: circa 1940
Medium: Silver, azurite, and malachite
Dimensions: 14 × 1 1/2 in. (35.56 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ron A. Belkin, Long Beach, California
Accession Number: M.2014.160.4
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Héctor Aguilar was an avid collector of Mesoamerican art whose modern silver designs reflect deep knowledge of historical sources. This necklace’s tiny bells (cascabeles) recall those donned by Mesoamerican dancers, warriors, and others for ceremonial and ritual practices. Ancient cascabeles, such as surviving bronze and copper alloy examples from Michoacán in LACMA’s collection (M.2023.61.455a-h; M.2023.61.453), were typically attached to garments or worn around the ankle or wrist.

Like many other silver designers, Aguilar first apprenticed in William Spratling’s Taller de Las Delicias (established in 1935) before forging out on his own. Along with his wife Lois Smith Cartwright, Aguilar founded the Taller Borda in 1939, a silver workshop that became known for the high quality of its elaborate works.

Rachel Kaplan

2024
Copyright: © artist or artist's estate

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Cascabeles (Bells) Necklace (Collar con cascabeles)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: circa 1940
Medium: Silver, azurite, and malachite
Dimensions: 14 × 1 1/2 in. (35.56 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ron A. Belkin, Long Beach, California
Accession Number: M.2014.160.4
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Héctor Aguilar was an avid collector of Mesoamerican art whose modern silver designs reflect deep knowledge of historical sources. This necklace’s tiny bells (cascabeles) recall those donned by Mesoamerican dancers, warriors, and others for ceremonial and ritual practices. Ancient cascabeles, such as surviving bronze and copper alloy examples from Michoacán in LACMA’s collection (M.2023.61.455a-h; M.2023.61.453), were typically attached to garments or worn around the ankle or wrist.

Like many other silver designers, Aguilar first apprenticed in William Spratling’s Taller de Las Delicias (established in 1935) before forging out on his own. Along with his wife Lois Smith Cartwright, Aguilar founded the Taller Borda in 1939, a silver workshop that became known for the high quality of its elaborate works.

Rachel Kaplan

2024