What’s New & Enterprising


New gallery features country antiques and vintage Mexican textiles
By Atención staff, Oct 6, 2006

Grand Opening of Galería Atotonilco Saturday & Sunday, October 14 & 15, 12–6pm 185-2225 or 044-415-153-5365

A colonial trunk with wooden pegs painted in botella verde, beautiful old tables and shelves with their original paint, gorgeous photographs of Mexico around 1900, a chair sold on Canal Street circa 1930, ceramics by Tonala ceramic artists, and stunning early 20th-century finely woven Saltillo serapes—these are among the treasures you will find in Mayer Shacter’s new gallery, Galería Atotonilco, located on his property five miles north of town. “I’m featuring items not widely available elsewhere in town,” said Shacter. He believes he will be exhibiting the largest collection of vintage Saltillo serapes available for purchase anywhere in Mexico. “My collection focuses on the period 1900 to 1950,” said Shacter. “Nineteenth-century serapes are better documented but now are extremely rare. Less is known about early-20th-century pieces. They are the finest possible weave, with spectacular diamond designs of silk and wool in the center. Most of my collection was acquired in the States. Tourists purchased them in Me
xico and then preserved them in cedar chests. I collect them only if they are in near-perfect condition.”

Mexicans were weaving a form of blanket even before the Spaniards arrived, but the Spanish brought two important innovations: sheep for wool and the pedal loom. By 1750, serapes were being sold at trade fairs in Saltillo, where they apparently acquired their name. In fact, they were woven in at least a dozen cities all over Mexico, with distinctive features identifying different locales. San Miguel de Allende was a major source of serapes well into the late 19th century. Today, they make dramatic wall hangings, bedspreads or throws.

Galería Atotonilco will also feature Mexican country antiques, especially those with their original paint still in place. “I’m sad to see trasteros, tables and benches that were brightly painted in their day but have been stripped of their color,” Shacter says.

“The original paint gives them a gorgeous patina.” Shacter painstakingly cleans painted pieces to make them serviceable and to retain their original character. The gallery is also showing a range of bauls (chests) ranging from colonial pieces to trunks from Olinala, and hand-painted dowry trunks from southern Mexico. Everything in the gallery is lovingly restored and in take-home condition. 

An aficionado of Mexican folk art, Shacter began collecting seriously in 1980 in travels all over Mexico. “At that time, Tonala was a little town several miles from Guadalajara,” he says. “Now, it is engulfed by the city, and only about a dozen families are still creating traditional pottery. But they are doing extraordinary work.” The gallery will always carry a variety of the best ceramics being done in Tonala. Also prominent in the collection will be Huichol yarn paintings, beaded jewelry and carved animals. The Shacters have been involved for more than 20 years with The Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts in Jalisco and Nayarit, where the finest quality Huichol jewelry is produced. He plans to expand his offerings of unusual folk art as the gallery grows.

“Historic photographs are like a time machine,” says Shacter, “a window into a Mexico that no longer exists.” He has a photograph of the aqueduct in Querétaro surrounded by open fields, as well as wonderful street and country scenes from the late 19th century. Also of interest is his collection of historic Mexican stereo cards, available for viewing at the gallery with a stereo viewer, but not for sale. “The stereo viewer was the television of the 19th century,” said Shacter. “It allowed people to travel all over the world from their armchairs.”

Mayer Shacter was a prominent ceramic artist for 27 years before becoming an antique dealer. “I thought I would always do ceramics,” he said. But when his wife, Susan Page, sold her first book in 1986, he took a sabbatical, started a small “hobby” antique business that grew and grew, and he never returned to ceramics. He was part of a large antique collective in San Mateo, California. After 11 years of restoring and selling period antiques, his passion for vintage mid-century modernism grew, and he opened his own store in Oakland, California, called Think Modern. During its first year in business, Think Modern was featured in Architectural Digest. When the opportunity to move to San Miguel presented itself, Shacter did not hesitate to liquidate his collection and close the store.

His passion for Mexico began when, at age 19, he hitchhiked from Los Angeles to Quito, Ecuador. The year before that, he had spent six months touring Europe on a Vespa motor scooter. He purchased his first antique in the Plaka section of Athens when he was about to board his ship home and still had a little money left. It was an antique donkey saddle bag, which he still owns. That was when he was 18, and he has been collecting ever since. 

Shacter brings a variety of skills to his new gallery here. He restores ceramics and folk art and has been honing his woodworking skills since he built his first home in Mendocino County, California, at the age of 25. He has renovated several homes over the years.

He studied art at the California Institute for the Arts (formerly Chouinard Art Institute) and at the Art Students League in New York. But mostly it’s his keen eye and thirst for information about the pieces he finds that keeps him excited. “I used to dream of living in Mexico,” he said, “but never thought I could really do it.” 

When asked if he was interested in retiring, he responded with a twinkle in his eye, “I retired when I was 21, and have been doing retirement businesses all my life. This is just the latest one.” He is always buying work for the gallery and will consider taking pieces on consignment.

Consider combining a visit to Galería Atotonilco with a trip to the hot springs and the historic church in the town of Atotonilco. To reach the gallery, take the first left off the Dolores Highway after you pass Escondido baths. Then turn left again, where the main road turns left, and go half a mile to the gallery driveway on your right. Except for the grand opening, always call first for an appointment (185-2225 or 044-415-153-5365).