Hair Clip, Barrette, Hojalata, 100mm

[oh-ha-lah-tah] This hand-cast Britannia Metal barrette is reminiscent of traditional Mexican Tinwork or "Hojalata", which dates back to the 16th Century colonial period. Many credit the state of Guanajuato (Coco, our metal casting expert's own home state), as the birthplace of this art form.
Considered Mexican colonial hacienda and folk art, the material was easy to work with and economical. Often called the poor man’s silver, tin was pounded, stamped and punched to form many elaborately decorated and functional works of art replicating many of the techniques and designs of its more expensive counterpart, silver.
Historically, tin has been used to craft mirror frames, crosses, candelabras, ornaments, jewelry, boxes, figures, and bowls, and was often the material used to make religious nichos – a shadow box – for saints, religious objects, altars and shrines to ancestors, commonly used during the Day of Dead celebrations or at Christmas and other religious holidays.

We love the ornate detail to our own Britannia metal version of the traditional Hojalata. We hope you will too.

• Hand crafted at our studio shop in Santa Rosa, California, USA.
• Clip Size:100 mm, Overall Dimensions: 4 x 1.875 inches / 10.2 x 4.8 cm, Weight: 1 ounce / 29 grams