Héctor Aguilar
Cutlery Set (Juego de cuchillos y tenedores)1940-1948

Not on view

Set of eight alternating knives and forks with silver-toned metal blades and dark walnut-brown turned wooden handles, arranged in a horizontal row

Close-up of a silver object's hallmarks: a rectangular stamp reading "940," a circular maker's mark with stylized initials, and a rectangular stamp reading "TAXCO," all stamped into a brushed silver surface.

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Cutlery Set (Juego de cuchillos y tenedores)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: 1940-1948
Medium: Silver, rosewood
Dimensions: 6 5/16 × 1 3/16 in. (16.03 × 3.02 cm) each
Credit Line: Gift of Jim and Penny Morrill
Accession Number: M.2015.279.1-.8
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Héctor 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. In addition to the silver workshop, Taller Borda included a carpentry studio, where skilled artisans carved local woods for use in furniture and flatware. This cutlery set combines both practices and showcases the high level of craftsmanship achieved in wood and silver. The handles may have been designed by Aguilar’s collaborator Valentín Vidaurreta (1902–1955).

Rachel Kaplan

2025
Copyright: © artist or artist's estate

Héctor Aguilar
Cutlery Set (Juego de cuchillos y tenedores)1940-1948

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Héctor Aguilar
Mexico, 1905-1986
Title: Cutlery Set (Juego de cuchillos y tenedores)
Place Made: Mexico, Taxco
Date Made: 1940-1948
Medium: Silver, rosewood
Dimensions: 6 5/16 × 1 3/16 in. (16.03 × 3.02 cm) each
Credit Line: Gift of Jim and Penny Morrill
Accession Number: M.2015.279.1-.8
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Héctor 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. In addition to the silver workshop, Taller Borda included a carpentry studio, where skilled artisans carved local woods for use in furniture and flatware. This cutlery set combines both practices and showcases the high level of craftsmanship achieved in wood and silver. The handles may have been designed by Aguilar’s collaborator Valentín Vidaurreta (1902–1955).

Rachel Kaplan

2025