Carved Link Cascabel Necklace

Three heavy, carved link sections build this early necklace, the center one carrying a descending ball with five long cascabels, the bells that gave Mexican silver so much of its sound and movement.

The silver link chain and clasp are typical of Spratling's work in this period, the kind of hand-fashioned chain on which the workshop built its reputation. The cascabels and worked links place it among the substantial early designs, the weight of the metal itself part of the effect.

It dates to the First Design Period, 1931 to 1946, when the Las Delicias workshop was establishing the forms that would define Mexican modern silver.