Hector Aguilar Sweetheart / “V” for Victory Bombardier Wing

[Bull Moose]

Picked up this Hector Aguilar sweetheart / “V” for victory bombardier wing recently.

 

Large lightweight cliché style wing, 4 1/16 x 1 7/8 inches, 16.2 grams.

 

Multiple hallmarks, stamped with Nat. Silver Co. & Hector Aguilar Made in Mexico Sterling logo. Also, faint raised Made in Mexico Sterling marks.

 

Research indicates this wing was part of Aguliar’s “Wings for Victory” series.  
 

Hector Aguilar was a prominent silversmith in Taxco Mexico. His firm was in business from 1939 - 1986.
 

With the National Silver Co. hallmark this wing appears to be part of their homefront jewelry offering.  Aguilar entered in a jewelry contract with Coro in 1943, but those items had a different hallmark.

Found another thread referencing Aguilar wings in the way back machine.

 

[pfrost]

Those are neat wings. While they may seem like "just" sweetheart wings, they hit three or four collecting interests. There is a LOT of interest in Mexican jewelry, and this is a classic of that type of workmanship.  Hector Aguilar was an important artist and his work is highly sought after in its own right.

 

Second, if you look at the hinge and catch, these are the same type of findings found on many of the Walter Lampl (AKA Juarez) and Bell wings.  Probably made in the same general geographic area (Southwest US/Northwest Mexico), it underlies the relationship to the region, craftsmanship, and art.  Rumor has it that Lampl used Mexican silver and craftsmen to make their iconic wings.  However, there is a lack of clarity regarding this exact fact, which probably requires further research.

 

I suspect if you were driving down the old Route 66 in 1946 or 47, you could find these types of items being offered for sale at every gas station/trading post along the way.

 

The ones I found (discussed in the link above) are cast examples made using the lost wax method. I suspect that they were made as copies rather than by Hector Aguilar's workshop.