Three Pyramid Belt Buckle

A horizontal silver belt buckle raised into three pyramids, this is a sculptural fastening from Spratling's first design period, where a few bold three-dimensional forms carry the entire design. It dates to 1931 to 1946.

Heavy silver belt buckles were among the very earliest pieces produced in Spratling's workshop, made alongside simple half-dome earrings in the first years (Morrill, pdf p. 39). The three raised pyramids give the buckle a strong relief profile, the geometry doing the work that ornament might otherwise.

As an early buckle, it belongs to the formative output through which Spratling established his heavy, hand-wrought manner.