A collection of Mexican silver metal matracas noisemakers
18th/19th century, Mexico
Appear unmarked
Comprising fourteen works, most in silver-toned metal and vermeil, with fabric flowers and clusters of foil strip elements, all with slender handles and rotating ratchet elements, and depicting various animals and figures including dogs, birds and horses, as well as decorative vases and baskets, and delicate pictorial scenes including devotional prayer, hunting, bullfighting, and multiple equestrian activities, 14 pieces
Largest: 4.5" H x 2.5" W x 1.75" D; smallest: 2.625" H x 2.25" W x 0.5" D
Provenance: The Collection of Frederick W. Davis
Private Collection, Southern California, by descent from the above

Other Notes: "In Mr. Davis's fabulous collection of folk art there is a group of silver matracas, rattles used during Holy Week when no bells ring. The imagination of the silversmith ran riot as he fashioned these little objects, fantastic with figures and flowers, buildings and animals, carved and decorated. A writer in 1844 tells us: 'On Thursday before Good Friday no bells ring, no horses or carriages, everybody is on foot. The women in their finest clothes make pilgrimages to seven churches. Everyone carries a matraca of wood or bone surmounted by a wax figure or a bird, a baby, a nude Venus. The rich carry ornamented silver ones, and it is the custom to give them as presents on that day... all was quiet but the hum of the crowd and the crack of a thousand rattles that filled the air like a meadow full of grasshoppers.'"
Reference: Mary L. Davis and Greta Pack, "Mexican Jewelry" (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1973) 74.

Similar items lent by Fred Davis to the travelling exhibition: "Mexican Arts" of 1930-1931, beginning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York from October 13-November 9 1930, and ending at the Pan-American Round Table, San Antonio, Texas from August 12-September 2, 1931.

The exhibition was the first large-scale significant public exhibition of Mexican art and was conceived by Ambassador Dwight W. Morrow and his wife, Elizabeth Cutter Morrow, who were deeply enthralled by Mexico's popular arts, antiques, and crafts. The Morrows emphasized the importance of indigenous influences in Mexican art and, "...celebrated folkloric Mexico, as well as acted as patrons validating nativist art within Mexico," (Foreign-Mexican Collaboration).
The idea of the exhibition from Dwight W. Morrow's perspective was that a traveling exhibition would not only strengthen the United States-Mexico understanding and relationship but would also allow the public an opportunity to see and study the visual culture of indigenous influences on art from Mexico. In 1927, while visiting Mexico, Elizabeth Morrow "...became a regular at outdoor markets and antique shops. Mexican artists and intellectuals guided her newfound interest, but she relied most upon her contact at Davis's shop, Rene d'Harnoncourt," (Foreign-Mexican Collaboration). Rene d'Harnoncourt worked as a knowledgeable collector and client representative at Fred Davis's well-known shop and would be a key individual in not only the development but also a leader of this exhibition.

In 1929, Morrow presented the idea of the exhibition to Frederick Keppel, director of the Department of Fine Arts at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, and to Robert DeForest, lawyer and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. After the initial approval, a proposal for the exhibition was created by William Spratling. The Carnegie Institute would finance the project and the American Federation of Arts would carry out the planning and transportation. Homer Saint-Gaudens, Director of the Department of Fine Arts at the Carnegie Institute, surveyed the field for months in Mexico and decided that Rene d'Harnoncourt would be the lead curator.

As he gathered the loan material, d'Harnoncourt structured his curatorial process to create an exhibition that would include "fine as well as folk art," and only those crafts that were "truly Mexican," meaning that their indigenous influences overshadowed those from Spain, Europe, and the United States, (Foreign-Mexican Collaboration). D'Harnoncourt was thus able to provide an impressive collection of items, including many works from the collection of his longtime friend, teacher, and owner of the 'Davis Shop,' Frederick W. Davis. Specifically, Davis lent to these categories in the exhibition: [Early Iron and Silver Works, Early and Contemporary Lacquered and painted Objects, Early and Contemporary Pottery, Early and Contemporary Textiles, Embroideries, and Beadwork, Early and Contemporary Costumes, Early Paintings, and Early and Contemporary Sculptures.] In addition, pieces from Diego Rivera, Julio Castellanos, Jean Charlot, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco, were also a part of the exhibition. D'Harnoncourt's design plan was to divide the exhibition into two sections "Fine" and "Applied" arts. He wrote a well-described explanation of the layout on the introduction page of the exhibition catalogue, further saying, "... the first by means of early and contemporary applied arts and early fine arts; and the second, by contemporary fine arts. The former represents the unconscious expression of national characteristics; the latter, their conscious expression." ("Mexican Arts" Exhibition Catalogue).

On October 13, 1930, the exhibition opened at its primary venue, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It was a truly sensational opening and is considered a curatorial masterpiece. As the exhibition traveled to other museums across the country, it would attain with each new stop "record visitation and high praise," (Foreign-Mexican Collaboration). Throughout the exhibition, many people were involved in supporting the understanding and appreciation of Mexican culture and the arts. Rene d'Harnoncourt would "readily admit his intellectual debt to his Mexican colleagues, above all to Doctor Atl," and he ended his introduction in the exhibition catalogue by saying, "The aim of this exhibition is to present, within the limits of artistic production, a Mexican interpretation of Mexico."

Each in overall good condition with tarnishing and light scratches commensurate with age and use. Many with minor distortion to handles and to some pictorial elements. A few with minor breaks and minor loss to some elements. Not tested for silver content. Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.