Non Western Blog: The 20th Century Silversmiths of Mexico
In the 1530s, the Spanish began mining silver in Mexico. The town of Taxco in the state of Guerro was one of the earliest mined areas and also taken advantage of during colonial times. Taxco had become Spain’s primary source for silver. Prior to the Spaniards arrival the people of this area had developed the skills and technique to create elaborate silver items, mostly jewelry. However, silversmiths had mostly vanished by the start of the 20 th century. One of the reasons attributed to the decline is Mexico’s War for Independence in the 19 th century. The Spaniards destroyed the silver mines rather than letting them go to the revolutionaries, causing the art to die out. An American, of all people, is credited with revitalizing the art of silversmiths in Mexico. Willam Spratling was a professor from Tulane University who studied Mexican culture in Taxco. He studied there for three summers before moving to Taxco perma...