Designer: Hector Aguilar (1905 – 1986)

Item: Aztec Pattern Dinner Knife and Cheese Knife

Manufactured by: Hector Aguilar

Country of origin: Mexico

Year made: Circa 1955

Materials: Sterling Silver and Rosewood

Dimensions: Dinner Knife is 9” x 1”, Cheese knife is 6” x 1 1/8”

Condition: Very good. There is a warm natural patina to both the silver and rosewood.

Description: Here is a pair of knives by Hector Aguilar in his most famous Aztec pattern. This pattern is one of the most sought after Mexican silver flatware designs by serious collectors of Mexican silver. Based on the hallmarks used and the age and patina we believe this pair dates to about 1955. The hallmark on the Dinner Knife used the silver number 9 in an Eagle which was in use from 1955 to 1962, but the age and patina on this piece clearly indicates it to be from the earliest period of this hallmark. The Taller Borda hallmark on the Cheese Knife was in use from 1949 to 1962, but since this pair came from the same family, we believe that they were purchased at the same time. In any case they date to no later than 1962. This design is extremely well documented and can be found in many publications about the Mexican arts.

In 1936 at the age of thirty, Aguilar was hired to be the shop manager for William Spratling’s Taller de las Delicias store. In 1939 he was able to secure financing to open his own studio producing silver jewelry and other silver wares. One of his financial investors was Valentin Viduarreta who was himself a gifted designer and artist and who did many of Aguilar’s important early designs. In 1948 Aguilar opened the Taller Borda shop, which became one of the top retail shops for the highest end Mexican silver objects in Taxco. At one point the demand was so high for his wares, that he had contracts with American department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus for export. The quality of the designs and craftsmanship of Aguilar’s wares easily compete with Spratling’s studios, and from what we have seen, in some cases exceeds it. For these reasons Aguilar’s wares are highly sought after and rapidly gaining in value.

References: Morrill, Penny Chittim and Berk, Carole A., Mexican Silver, 20^th Century Handwrought Jewelry & Metalwork, Schiffer Publishing (1994).