Octagonal Silver Ashtray

An octagonal silver ashtray fitted with a holder for a cigarette, this is a piece of decorative holloware that gives a small functional object a deliberate geometric form. It belongs to the first design period of the Taller de las Delicias, the workshop Spratling founded in 1931.

The faceted octagonal shape reflects the workshop's interest in clean geometry, with the integrated cigarette rest worked into the design rather than added as an afterthought. It is the kind of useful silver the taller produced in quantity for an expanding market.

First-period holloware of this sort is collected alongside Spratling's jewelry, and a geometric ashtray is a desirable example of the workshop's everyday table silver.