Silson Owl Bracelet of Six Links

An owl rendered across six links, this bracelet is one of the silver-plate pieces produced by the American manufacturer Silson from a Spratling design rather than made in his own taller. It dates to the early 1940s, the period of his licensing arrangement that put his motifs into plate for a wider American market.

The owl was a popular motif in that collaboration, appearing as both this bracelet and a matching pin. Working in silver plate rather than the 980 silver of the Taxco workshop, these pieces carried Spratling's design vocabulary into a different metal and a lower price point.

The bracelet is recorded in Morrill and Berk's Mexican Silver: 20th Century Handwrought Jewelry & Metalwork. Silson pieces after Spratling designs form a distinct, well-documented corner of his output.