Segmented Tortoise Shell Buckle

Tortoiseshell alternating with silver around an oval buckle is Spratling exploring contrast of material, the warm translucence of shell set against bright metal, a pairing he returned to repeatedly. The buckle dates to the Second Design Period of 1949 to 1951, the years of his association with Conquistador.

Morrill identifies the silver-and-tortoiseshell interplay as a deliberate strategy in Spratling's mature work, where the emphasis fell on "the richness and textural contrast" between metal and shell (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 73). The segmented oval here turns that contrast into a measured rhythm.

The buckle is recorded in Davis and Pack's Mexican Jewelry and in Goddard's Spratling Silver: A Field Guide. Surviving wholesale catalog pricing, $6.72 in 1958-59 and $6.80 in 1967, shows the design stayed in production for nearly a decade, a sign of its enduring appeal.