Emilia Castillo Silver Plate Armadillo Butter Dish With Malachite, Taxco Mexico

Details

Description

An exceptional and highly sculptural vintage covered butter dish by renowned Mexican designer and silversmith Emilia Castillo, conceived in the … Read more An exceptional and highly sculptural vintage covered butter dish by renowned Mexican designer and silversmith Emilia Castillo, conceived in the whimsical form of an armadillo and handcrafted in Taxco, Mexico. Both functional tableware and a collectible decorative object, the piece captures Castillo’s distinctive ability to transform imagery from the natural world into sophisticated objects for the home.

The armadillo is meticulously constructed in solid brass with a silver-plated finish, its articulated shell rendered through deeply textured, overlapping bands that create remarkable dimension and reflectivity. The animal’s head, ears, feet, and tail are modeled with equally elaborate chased and repoussé-like surface detailing. The entire sculptural cover lifts from an elegant oval silver-plated serving dish, allowing the piece to function as a covered butter dish, serving piece, or purely decorative tabletop sculpture.

A particularly beautiful detail is the dragonfly (libélula) perched on the armadillo’s back. Its wings are accented with rich green natural malachite stone inlay, introducing the combination of precious and semiprecious materials for which Emilia Castillo's work is especially admired.

The underside retains the maker's hallmark reading “Emilia Castillo, Mexico M.R., Plateado,” along with its model designation.

Emilia Castillo occupies an important position within the history of 20th-century Mexican silver and Taxco design. Born into one of Mexico's most significant silversmithing families, she is the daughter of Antonio Castillo, founder of the celebrated Los Castillo workshop. Antonio Castillo had trained with William Spratling, the influential designer credited with helping revive Taxco's modern silver industry. Emilia grew up surrounded by the family's workshops and later developed an independent design career characterized by imaginative animal forms, botanical motifs, silver, porcelain and colorful semiprecious stones.

Her work eventually achieved an international audience, including a long association with Neiman Marcus beginning in the 1990s, while important commissions further established her reputation beyond Mexico. Today her designs form part of the continuing multigenerational Castillo tradition: Emilia's daughter Cristina Romo also became a designer and silversmith, extending the family's Taxco metalworking heritage into another generation.

For interior designers, architects and collectors, this armadillo is particularly compelling because it functions equally well as Mexican Modernist decorative art, luxury tableware, a cabinet-of-curiosities object, or a sculptural centerpiece. Its polished silver surface and vivid malachite detail would provide an unexpected focal point in a contemporary dining room, cocktail setting, library, bar, or collected interior.

Condition: Good vintage condition with light wear consistent with age and use. We can detect no significant loss to the silver-plated finish. Please refer to the photographs for additional condition details.

Measurements:
Approximately 8 in. W × 5.25 in. D × 3 in. H

Materials: Silver-plated solid brass, malachite
Designer/Maker: Emilia Castillo
Origin: Taxco, Mexico
Type: Covered butter dish / serving dish / decorative sculpture
Motif: Armadillo and dragonfly See less