MT085  Vintage Margot de Taxco sterling silver and enamel St. Christopher pendant; circa-1955 to 1978
Origin:  Taxco, Mexico
Dimensions:  1.75" diameter; chain 19.38" long and marked “SILVER MEXICO”; 37.4 gm total
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:  $895.00

Charming St. Christopher medal displaying the Christ Child atop the saint’s brawny shoulders as He is carried across the river.  St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers. His power to protect against such dangers in transit as Montezuma’s Revenge and other horrors stems from this tale the nuns used to tell us (later disowned by the Vatican as folkloric fiction).  St. Christopher was a giant ferryman who hired himself out to convey passengers across a dangerous river.  One stormy evening, a frail-looking little boy asked Christopher to help him across.  Thinking this would be an easy fare, the mighty man took the child on his back and began to wade across the treacherous current.  The child was light on his shoulders at first, but as they approached the middle of the river where the current ran swift and deep, he seemed to grow heavier and heavier.  At one point it seemed the child must weigh as much as several full-grown men, yet his weight kept increasing!  Christopher felt himself stumble and almost lose his footing under the unbearable burden.  “God, help me!” he cried out, as he made his way gasping to shore at last.  “Hey kid, you’ve put us in so much danger!  Why the heck are you so heavy?”  The Boy replied, “You were carrying not only the weight of the whole world on your back, but also that of He who made it.  I am Christ your King, whom you are serving by this work.”  As Christopher stared at Him dumfounded, the child vanished.  Later, Christopher made his way to Lycea to comfort Christian martyrs. He was caught up in the Emperor’s dragnet when he refused to worship pagan gods, and joined the other martyrs himself.  His feast day is June 24.  Margot’s captivating medallion makes a perfect emblem for someone who loves to travel, and although she may carry the weight of the world on her shoulders at times, she can pull it off with aplomb.