Amethyst Bee Earrings

Earrings in the form of a bee or other insect, each with an amethyst forming the body, this First Design Period pair shows Spratling's lighter, naturalistic side. A matching pin of the same design was also made, so the insect motif spanned more than one form.

The insect is part of Spratling's broader interest in natural forms rendered in silver. Using a faceted amethyst as the body is a neat fusion of stone and subject, the gem doing double duty as both ornament and the creature's torso.

The earrings were hand-wrought by the early workshop's methods, the silver shaped by hand and the stones bezel-set (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 36). The result is a small figural piece with a built-in point of color.

That the design exists as both earrings and a pin shows Spratling developing a successful figural motif across a coordinated group. Whimsical naturalistic pieces like these remain collectible within the range of his First Period jewelry.