December 5th & 6th 2015 Premier Fine & Decorative Arts Sale
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/5/2015
Chased with flower heads and with cast applied ropework edges, engraved with an inscription in Spanish; and with a set of 12 shot glasses with a band of floral chasing. Circa 1943, big 14" intricate Mexican sterling silver promotional presentation tray. Elaborately handworked sombrero with twelve shot glasses that rest at designated spots on the perimeter of the brim. The hat is marked on the bottom; "STERLING 925". Each of the shot cups is marked on the bottom; "VIGUERAS", "MADE IN MEXICO", "1950". (The silversmith Vigueras is listed in Bille Hougart's book on Mexican Hallmarks.) Presentation engraving on the hat brim reads: "MR. & MRS. NICHOLAS KELLEY JR., RECUERDO DE LOS DISTRIBUIDORES "PRODUCTOS CHRYSLER" DE LA REPUBLICA MEXICANA - IV CONVENCION - ACAPULCO, GRO.". Note that the American automotive manufacturer Chrysler was founded in 1925 and started to sell automobiles in Mexico in 1939. The fourth anniversary of that introduction would place this piece at an approximate date of 1943. (Beginning in the late 1940s, Mexican silversmiths began marking their work with an "eagle" thus further supporting our attributed 1943 date of manufacture.Diameter: 14 in.Total weight: 49.2 ozt