Vintage 1970s SERMEL Tonala Mexico Paper Mache Alligator Signed Mint Bustamante For Sale

🇲🇽MADE IN MEXICO🇲🇽

Rare Vintage 1970s Signed Sermel Tonalá Papier-Mâché Alligator / Crocodile

QUICK ITEM SPECIFICS;

• Brand / Studio: Sermel (Co-founded by Sergio Bustamante & Melquiades Preciado)
• Era / Time Period: Mid-to-Late 1970s (The "Golden Age" of the studio)
• Material: Fine Artisan Papier-Mâché (Paper Mache)
• Features: Hand-Signed, High-Gloss Original Lacquer Finish
• Dimensions: 13" Long x 10" Wide x 4" High

PRODUCT OVERVIEW:

• Up for sale is a stunning, authentic piece of vintage Mexican Pop Folk Art: a medium-large papier-mâché alligator hand-crafted during the 1970s at the famous "Sermel studio in Tonalá, Jalisco, Mexico".

• Founded in 1963 by legendary artist Sergio Bustamante and Melquiades Preciado, Sermel pieces from this specific mid-to-late 1970s era are highly coveted by collectors. This piece perfectly showcases the studio's definitive hallmarks from the period: a thick, ultra-high-gloss lacquer coat, a vibrant color palette, and the mesmerizing, highly detailed "big eye" style influenced by Bustamante before he departed the collective later that decade.

• While Sermel birds and owls are more common, predatory reptiles like this alligator are quite rare and heavily collected.

CONDITION PROFILE:

• MINT
• This piece is in exceptional, museum-quality mint condition. Vintage 1970s papier-mâché is incredibly fragile and prone to deterioration, yet this alligator shows absolutely zero chips, zero cracks, zero structural peeling, and no missing lacquer. The colors remain incredibly vibrant, and the handwritten signature on the base is crisp, clear, and perfectly preserved. It has been kept in a smoke-free, climate-controlled collector environment.

MARKINGS & COLORWAY:

• Markings: Hand-signed "SERMEL TONALA JAL MEX" on the bottom in matching turquoise paint.
• Colorway: High-gloss emerald green body with intricate turquoise/blue scale grid detailing and striking blue/black hand-painted eyes.

SHIPPING & HANDLING:

• Will be securely packed & quickly shipped with full insurance & tracking at no additional cost to buyer.

NOTE:

• Please ask all questions and/or request all additional photos PRIOR TO PURCHASE, as all sales are final.
• Please review all photos carefully as they form part of the description. Feel free to message me with any questions before purchasing!*

ALL SALES ARE FINAL

NO RETURNS

NO REFUNDS

Thank You!!