Tortoise Shell Tray with Silver Gallery

A tortoise shell tray framed by a silver gallery, with rolled top and bottom edges, this piece pairs an exotic natural material with Spratling's clean metalwork. It belongs to the Third Design Period of 1951 to 1967 and was made in two sizes, this being the larger.

The tortoise shell extends Spratling's habit of marrying silver to a contrasting natural material, the warm patterned shell set inside a bright silver frame. The rolled edges top and bottom are the resolved, modern finish of his later trays.

The tray is documented in the Centennial Edition of Cederwall and Riney's Spratling Silver and in Goddard's field guide. Tortoise shell and silver trays from the later period come to market only occasionally.