Diagonal Band Buckle

Diagonal silver bands rise in three dimensions over contrasting bands of gold-washed silver beneath, making this large buckle a study in layered relief and chromatic contrast. It belongs to the Third Design Period of 1951 to 1967, the years of Spratling's sculptural late work.

The buckle answers exactly to the direction Morrill describes in his mature objects, forms pared down with the emphasis falling on richness and textural contrast (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 73). Here that contrast is between bright silver and gold-washed silver, the warm undertone glowing through the gaps in the raised bands. Stylistically similar buckles were also made.

The piece is recorded in Goddard's Spratling Silver: A Field Guide. Large three-dimensional buckles of the late period come to market only occasionally.