Silver Shell Necklace

A necklace of silver shells linked by silver chain, this First Design Period piece takes a natural form, the shell, and repeats it as a rhythmic chain around the neck. The shell design was versatile enough that Spratling also used it in a necklace with abalone and in matching earrings.

The shell is part of Spratling's broader interest in natural and vernacular Mexican forms rendered in silver (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 14). Repeated as connected units, the shells turn a single motif into a complete composition.

The hollow, formed shells and their connecting links were hand-built by the early workshop without rolling mills, the silver hammered and shaped by hand (Morrill, p. 36). The clasp on this example has been replaced, a common and honest condition note on jewelry of this age.

That the shell motif spans a silver necklace, an abalone version, and earrings shows how Spratling developed a successful form across a coordinated group. A First Period shell necklace is a documented example of that practice and remains collectible within his nature-derived designs.