Mother-of-Pearl Pitcher

Mother-of-pearl inlay set into a silverplate pitcher gives this vessel its pale, shifting surface and marks it as part of Los Castillo's decorative hollowware. Larger forms like pitchers were produced in the orfebreria, the workshop devoted to trays, services, and vessels (Morrill).

The shell reads against the worked metal where the stone-and-metal pieces typically use harder colored minerals, the mother-of-pearl supplying luster rather than saturated color. Los Castillo, opened by Antonio Castillo in 1939, built its name on refining details and not repeating a design (Morrill, p. 91).

A mother-of-pearl pitcher of this kind is seen only occasionally, and the example is of interest for its softer inlay against the firm's usual stones.