Mayan Head in Ebony Frame

A silver Mayan head mounted in a beveled ebony frame, this piece is half jewelry, half sculpture, presenting a Pre-Columbian profile as a framed object. The dark ebony surround sets off the bright modeled silver of the head.

The Mayan head is a direct expression of Spratling's program of reviving ancient Mexican iconography in silver (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 14). Rather than wearing the motif, this piece presents it as a small relief plaque to be displayed.

The pairing of silver with ebony is characteristic of Spratling's taste for setting the metal against a dark contrasting material for richness and textural play (Morrill, p. 73). The beveled frame gives the head a finished, picture-like presentation.

A mounted plaque is an unusual format next to Spratling's jewelry and holloware, which makes a silver Mayan head in ebony a distinctive example of how his Pre-Columbian vocabulary moved off the body and onto the wall or shelf.