MT072  Vintage Margot de Taxco sterling silver and speckled white enamel necklace; circa-1955 to 1978
Origin:  Taxco, Mexico
Dimensions:  15.38” x .63”; 73.8 gm
Condition:  Excellent – under magnification, no missing enamel.
Provenance:  To be published in Penny Morrill’s upcoming book on Margot van Voorhies Carr – Margot de Taxco
Price:  $875.00

A snail shell motif displays intriguing abstract geometry when set in sparkling white enamel flecked with silver. The simple color change lends a completely new take on Margot’s snail shell design, which she also made in her signature blue-green confetti enamel (MT081). The snail shell symbolized many levels of knowledge for the ancient Aztecs. It was a symbol of cyclical renewal, personified by the moon which appears and disappears in the night sky, like the snail that withdraws into and reappears from its shell. The snail also represented occult knowledge connected to cycles of death and re-birth. Two 10th century golden discs taken from the Sacred Well at Chichen Itza depict an old king emerging from a snail shell, announcing “the arrival in the world of ancient hidden knowledge" and suggesting a re-birth taking place on a spiritual level. Margot’s snail shell necklace enhances its fascinating spiral geometry with bright silver-speckled white – pure magic when worn, and a lovely way to celebrate one’s personal hope and renewal.