Héctor Aguilar
Crocodile Brooch (Prendedor en forma de cocodrilo)circa 1940

Not on view

Silver brooch in the form of a stylized serpent or dragon head, with a long pointed snout, spiral tongue, triangular teeth, and swept-back horn, polished with deep shadow in recessed areas

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Crocodile Brooch (Prendedor en forma de cocodrilo)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: circa 1940
Medium: Silver
Dimensions: 1 × 2 3/8 × 1/4 in. (2.54 × 6.03 × 0.64 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Penny Morrill, McLean, Virginia, in honor of Ronald A. Belkin
Accession Number: M.2015.91.1
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: This crocodile brooch belongs to a set of pins designed by Héctor Aguilar. He was inspired by Mexica and Mixtec symbols, including those found in the tonalpohualli, a 260-day calendar in which each day receives a name—such as cipactli (crocodile)—and is represented by a corresponding hieroglyphic sign. Given Aguilar’s interest in Mesoamerican art, he would have been familiar with these almanacs (known as tonalamatl) and calendric symbols. His crocodile bears a striking resemblance to the glyphs that appear in codices such as the pre-Conquest Codex Fejérváry-Mayer (https://archive.org/details/codexfejeyrvayr00sele/page/18/mode/1up).

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
Selected Bibliography: Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915-1985. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich: DelMonico Books-Prestel, 2017.
Copyright: © artist or artist's estate

Héctor Aguilar
Crocodile Brooch (Prendedor en forma de cocodrilo)circa 1940

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Crocodile Brooch (Prendedor en forma de cocodrilo)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: circa 1940
Medium: Silver
Dimensions: 1 × 2 3/8 × 1/4 in. (2.54 × 6.03 × 0.64 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Penny Morrill, McLean, Virginia, in honor of Ronald A. Belkin
Accession Number: M.2015.91.1
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: This crocodile brooch belongs to a set of pins designed by Héctor Aguilar. He was inspired by Mexica and Mixtec symbols, including those found in the tonalpohualli, a 260-day calendar in which each day receives a name—such as cipactli (crocodile)—and is represented by a corresponding hieroglyphic sign. Given Aguilar’s interest in Mesoamerican art, he would have been familiar with these almanacs (known as tonalamatl) and calendric symbols. His crocodile bears a striking resemblance to the glyphs that appear in codices such as the pre-Conquest Codex Fejérváry-Mayer (https://archive.org/details/codexfejeyrvayr00sele/page/18/mode/1up).

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
Selected Bibliography: Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915-1985. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich: DelMonico Books-Prestel, 2017.