Chain Necklace Studded with Silver Beads

A silver chain studded along its length with applied beads, finished at a large round clasp set with an off-center bead, this necklace makes its ornament from the link work itself rather than from a stone or pendant. The off-center bead on the clasp is the small, deliberate asymmetry that keeps the design from reading as mechanical.

The idea was carried into a matching bracelet, built on the same studded chain and closed with a large flat clasp, showing it was conceived as a coordinated pair. Spratling worked in 980 silver, a higher purity than sterling, and marked each design with the joined "WS" adapted from his horse brand (Morrill, p. 39).

With no recorded reference or named motif, the piece rests on its hallmark, its condition, and the integrity of the beadwork rather than on documented iconography.