About Mexican Silver Maker Matilde Poulat of MATL

Matilde Eugenia Poulat established MATL in 1934. She was from Mexico City, where she studied art and, in her early years, was both a painter and a painting teacher. In the early ’30s Matilde turned her full attention to the design and crafting of fine silver jewelry.

Matilde’s designs emphasized both religion and pre-European folk art. In the 1940’s she became internationally renowned for her work, which accentuated more ancient styles and used a spectacular array of intensely colored stones, most often amethyst, turquoise, and coral. The delicate and detailed use of coral and turquoise stones required both talent and time to complete the considerable chasing work. Matilde’s MATL pieces are highly collectible  and will likely become  more so as time continues.

Matilde’s pieces are signed with MATL and used the Eagle stamp 129. At age 11, her nephew, Ricardo Salas, began working at her silversmith operation, MATL. After Matilde died in 1960, Ricardo continued with her tradition, and it is often difficult to tell his work from Matilde. His pieces are usually marked Salas and MS-12.