rare Los Castillo Mexican silver Jeanne d' Arc Pendant Necklace

An iconic personality for advocates of female empowerment, Jeanne d’ Arc is not a figure I expected to see on a piece of jewelry by the Los Castillo. I look at the pendant and see Margot de Taxco at her drawing table, sketch pencil in hand, making the French heroine materialize on paper before she is cast in sterling silver. Very unusual - I have never seen one before - the pendant is crafted “cameo style”, with Jeanne d’ Arc on horseback, brandishing her sword in full armor for the foes of the realm to take heed. Paired here with a vintage twist-rope chain of Italian extraction, it is ready to be enjoyed again right away as a necklace…

Size / Weight: pendant is 1 3/8” tall (without the bail) by 1” wide; with the bail it adds a 1 3/4” drop to the chain; chain itself is 20 1/4” long; 20.1 grams (for the set; pendant alone is 14.2 grams)

Hallmarks / Date: fully signed with workshop’s name as shown as well as “STERLING MADE IN MEXICO” alongside Eagle 15 assay mark; there are also hand-etched marks for “SILVER” and “MEXICO” as well an additional hallmark that denotes the silver as being of high purity “985/1000”; the chain itself is marked “ITALY” and “925”; 1950s for the pendant while chain is post-1980

Condition: excellent vintage with beautiful sculptural quality, very unusual and quite rare, having warm patina, with no damage and no repairs noted

Inv# 15675