Unknown artist, Pitcher, about 1600. Silver gilt; 6¾ × 7⅝ in. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2013.314.

height: 6.75 in, 17.145 cm; height: 7 9/16 in, 19.2088 cm; overall width: 6 1/8 in, 15.5575 cm; diameter: 3 1/2 in, 8.89 cm

caryatid figure on the spout; early partial hallmark of Mexico City with the columns of Hercules surmounted by an imperial crown; two assayer’s zigzag scrape marks

Mayer Center, Latin American Art

Latin American Art

This object is currently on view

When Spanish explorers first arrived in Mexico in 1519, they found that gold and silver were abundant. Indigenous societies had long traditions of metalworking techniques, including filigree, casting, and hammering. Silversmiths from Spain began to immigrate to the Americas shortly after the conquest and introduced European forms and styles. Through time, the synthesis of European and Indigenous styles culminated in the lush excesses of colonial Baroque and Rococo metalwork. Due to the abundance of silver in the Americas, Spanish colonial silver is often notable for its thickness and weight, as seen in this example.

This elegant, partially gilt silver pitcher is a type made in Spain and Mexico in the 1500s and early 1600s, with Mannerist strapwork decoration and a caryatid figure on the spout. The piece bears the columns of Hercules surmounted by an imperial crown, an early partial hallmark of Mexico City. It also has two assayer’s zigzag scrape marks (buriladas), indicating that the assayer tested the piece for the quality of the silver.

– revised by Kathryn Santner, Frederick and Jan Mayer Fellow of Spanish Colonial Art, 2023

• "Heaven and Earth: The Jan and Frederick Mayer Collection of Spanish Colonial Art from the Denver Art Museum, Jun 16-Oct 8, 2006, Museo de las Americas, Denver