Deep in the Mexican state of Michoacan, the large Nuñez family turns out sleek and elegant vessels from pounded, fired and refined metals. Their rugged mountainous terrain has a long history of mineral mining, and copper, gold and silversmithing are the traditional work. Rich with talent and raw material, the region’s artists are globally recognized; at the top is the Nuñez atelier. Family patriarch Jose German Punzo Nuñez says “Art allows me to express my ideas, feelings, and character into a piece of metal. Each day I learn more about my work, but my main motivation is to pass on to my children this beautiful art I inherited…It is a process of love.” The process begins, of course, with metal, first fired in a pit filled with pine, charcoal, and stones, then hammered to form a number of vessels or figures. Each piece is pounded from a single sheet or ingot of metal; there is no soldering of separate parts. The family pools their skills and works together at every stage of hammering, firing, and cooling. A single artist will often take on the final and most detailed hammering.Our Nuñez collection includes five finely pounded, hammered, smoothed and polished pieces, all sophisticated innovations on the the most classic styles. Light bounces off surfaces with hundreds of beveled edges; the rim of a powerful vessel is delicately notched in a smooth circle of lines. With their uniquely collaborative creative methods and their elegant, contemporary design sensibility, the members of the Nuñez family are Mexico’s modern masters. Their stately works are found in collections worldwide.