Arrow Brooch

A silver arrow brooch, clean and linear, later also made inset with two amethysts. The arrow was a motif Spratling worked extensively through his career, its directional thrust suiting the Deco-influenced geometry that ran alongside his pre-Columbian designs. It is recorded in Goddard's field guide, "Spratling Silver: Recognizing a William Spratling Treasure."

The plain-silver and amethyst-set versions show Spratling varying a single form by adding stones at a later date, the kind of incremental development common across his designs. The arrow's reduction to pure line is characteristic of the geometric discipline of his first design period.

Made at the Taller de Las Delicias he founded in Taxco in 1931, the brooch is a spare example of that arrow motif, which Spratling would carry across necklaces, bracelets, and earrings as well. Its place in the field guide makes it a documented example of the form.

Mingei International Museum, San DiegoSan Diego, United States

Pin, ca 2000

Accession 2011-69-01194. Official museum record Photo: Mingei International Museum, San Diego.

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