Turquoise Aztec Sunburst Necklace

Radiant solar geometry rendered in high-grade silver, the Aztec sunburst pendant translates the iconic imagery of pre-Columbian Mexico into jewelry with an authority that defined much of Spratling's workshop output. What distinguishes this example from the familiar variant of the design is its carved turquoise faces ringing the perimeter: where the sunburst more commonly appears with smooth amethyst cabochons, here each radial element carries a worked stone portrait, elevating the pendant from decorative reference into something closer to sculptural homage.

Spratling founded the Taller de Las Delicias in Taxco in 1931 with the explicit aim of drawing on pre-Columbian sources — codex imagery, temple facades, and ancient stone-carving — and as Stromberg documents (2008), his central contribution was translating those motifs into a style accessible to an international clientele while preserving their formal power. The sunburst's concentric, radial structure echoes the solar iconography of Aztec monumental stone, and the chased detail around the central stone — shared with the Aztec sunburst bracelet from the same design family — shows the workshop's discipline in carrying a motif consistently across forms. The pendant's reverse, with closely spaced chain loops of a distinct type from the amethyst variant, reflects the incremental refinements characteristic of Spratling's production practice.

Carved stone-face settings of this quality appear rarely against the broader run of this design. An intact example combining the canonical sunburst form with worked turquoise rather than the standard amethyst treatment offers a material richness and adds a dimension of interest.