Rope Bezel Dome Ring

A domed silver center ringed by a rope bezel, flanked by three silver beads on each side and carried on a band of multiple wires, makes this ring a compact catalogue of Spratling's bench techniques. The rope bezel, the beadwork, and the multi-wire shank are each a workshop signature, gathered here into one small object.

Drawing wire to gauge and forming small silver beads were core skills of the First Period workshop (Morrill, p. 36), and this ring puts both on display. The rope motif itself ties back to the cord and saddle-ornament designs Spratling cited among his earliest sources (Morrill, pdf p. 39).

Early rings combining a rope bezel with beadwork come to market only occasionally, and the multi-wire band is the detail that marks the construction as his.