Hammered Silver-Plate Centerpiece Bowl with Lapis Parrot Mounts

A substantial hand-hammered silver-plate centerpiece bowl by Emilia Castillo of Taxco, Mexico, the deep footed form raised on a waisted pedestal base and fitted with two perched parrot figures mounted on wire rings at the rim. The parrots are fully sculpted and inlaid in tessellated lapis lazuli with gilt detailing at the beak, the deep cobalt stone contrasting sharply against the bright hammered silver surface.

Emilia Castillo was born in Taxco, Mexico, where each piece she creates is an inspiration of her surroundings and a playful mixture of metals and natural elements such as lapis lazuli, jasper, turquoise, malachite, onyx and alabaster. A second-generation silversmith descending from the Los Castillo dynasty, she elevated the Taxco metalworking tradition into the realm of collectible design, combining pre-Columbian material sensibility with a modernist formal vocabulary. 

Dimensions: Inquire
Style: Mexican Modernist
Materials & Techniques: Hand-hammered silver plate, tessellated lapis lazuli, gilt
Place of Origin: Taxco, Mexico
Period: Late 20th century