Seven Ball Bar Brooch

Seven half-balls in a row make up this silver bar brooch, a design pared to its barest geometry: the repeated dome is the only element, lined up to give the bar its rhythm. The half-ball, a basic unit in Spratling's vocabulary, here carries an entire piece on its own.

The brooch dates to the First Design Period, 1931 to 1946. Designs this elemental show how much of the early production rested on simple repeated forms and the quality of the handwork, rather than on stones or figural motifs.

Simple geometric bar pins from the first decade are among the more wearable of the early jewelry and remain accessible to collectors.