Spratling Sterling Silver Ebony Wood Modern Square Cube Minimal Dangle Earrings

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Spratling Sterling Silver Ebony Wood Modern Square Cube Minimal Dangle Earrings

About the Item

Epitomizing William Spratling's use of sterling silver inlay, ebony wood, geometric shapes, minimal decoration, hand-hammering, and Art-Deco inspiration, these modern hoop-like earrings feature black gradient-stain cubes that are each masterfully inlaid with a sterling round void and dangling from a single bent square-shaped sterling wire that is hammered and perforated at one end for fastening. Using such feminine and masculine design elements, other decorative objects beyond jewelry were created by the inimitable Mexico-based 20th-century designer, such as boxes, trays, serveware, and cutlery. The stained-and-polished wood disks of the earrings rotate on the horizontal part of their wires so that the silver circle on each can be positioned to be symmetric or only one flipped to be asymmetric. As the wires are thin and decorative silver is tiny, there are no Spratling (1900-1967) marks on these mostly wood earrings. His early screw-back dangle earrings were only marked in large text "Spratling Silver" or "WS" when part of a bigger set, such as with a brooch, necklace or bracelet that otherwise included his maker's mark and Mexican Taxco stamps. When Spratling began making smaller types of earring fasteners, he was also repeating design elements in our earrings. Collectors of his work will recognize in the Spratling/Ulrich catalog the strong similarity to a silver-and-ebony cuff bracelet (#204.PU-81), as well as to his documented shaped silver-wire necklaces and other works decorated with wire/circular voids. Given the geometric and color likeness of the aforementioned bracelet, please consider assembling along with our other listing a complimentary 20th-century minimalist set including an equally inimitable work of art from the 1990s. As a preview, we include two photos of the snap bracelet constructed with overlapping circular thick wool disks and silver round hardware by museum-collected Swedish designer Pia Wallen. While signed, her bracelet also features her signature material felt.

Creator:
William Spratling
Metal:
Sterling Silver
Dimensions:
Width: 0.79 in (20 mm)Depth: 0.2 in (5 mm)Length: 1.19 in (30 mm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Modernist
Place of Origin:
Mexico
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1940s-1960s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU3244218510282