Fan-Link Bracelet with Turquoise

Worked silver set with turquoise, this bracelet is a clear statement of the MATL manner, in which inlaid color carries as much weight as the metal itself. That balance grew from Matilde Poulat's post-Revolution turn toward a Mexican aesthetic drawn from Pre-Conquest and pueblo art, after she left behind the painting she had studied at the San Carlos Academy (Morrill, p. 216).

The fan-like links place the turquoise cabochon within a more sculptural silver surround, rather than the narrower scroll-link format seen in the companion bracelet from the same auction photograph. The result is recognizably MATL, but distinct enough to require its own catalog entry.

The turquoise reflects the taller's hand craft. Ricardo Salas, who worked alongside his aunt from boyhood and collaborated so closely with her that their designs cannot easily be separated, was trained to carve and set turquoise, coral, and other stones for the firm (Morrill, p. 216).