Croissant Rectangular Belt Buckle with Hematite

Heavy belt buckles were among the very first objects Spratling's workshop produced, and this rectangular buckle set with hematite carries that lineage into the Third Design Period (1951-1967). The dark stone against worked silver keeps the piece sober and architectural.

From the start, Spratling's buckles drew on cord and saddle-ornament designs adapted from Mexican sources, the buckle a form he returned to throughout his career (Morrill, p. 39). Hematite supplies a restrained, near-metallic counterpoint to the silver.

The buckle is recorded in Penny Morrill's Maestros de Plata.