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Four horizontal silver balls and two incised lines cross the base of this salt spoon, a small all-silver object resolved entirely through Spratling's elemental devices. It dates to the First Design Period of 1931 to 1946.
The bead and the incised line were Spratling's basic marks, applied here to a utilitarian spoon with the same care given to his jewelry. On an object this small the two devices alone carry the design.
The spoon is recorded in Littleton's The Color of Silver and in Goddard's field guide. Early salt spoons of this kind surface only occasionally at auction.
Museum of Mexican Silver. “Four Ball Salt Spoon.” Catalog no. MoMS-000179. https://museumofmexicansilver.com/pieces/spratling-441
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Open Circle Martini Spoon
Third Design Period: 1951 - 1967
Silver
