- Title
- Butterfly Earrings (Aretes en forma de mariposa)
- Date Made
- circa 1938-1944
- Medium
- Silver, copper
- Dimensions
- 1 1/4 × 1 in. (3.1 × 2.5 cm) each
- Accession Number
- M.2013.7.2a-b
- Collecting Area
- Latin American Art
- Curatorial Notes
William Spratling was an avid collector of Mesoamerican art and frequently integrated ancient motifs into his modern designs. Several of his works include animals, which were important symbolic subjects for Mesoamerican cultures. Butterflies were largely associated with the soul and ideas of transformation. The colorful insects were illustrated and described in detail in the Florentine Codex (https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/book/11/folio/100r), a sixteenth-century encyclopedia manuscript of Mexica culture and the natural world. Here, Spratling introduced copper spots on the wings and heads, enhancing the earrings’ decorative appeal (see also M.2013.4.6).
Trained as an architect, Spratling moved from New Orleans to Taxco, Mexico, where he established his first silver workshop in 1931. Working alongside master silversmiths and local apprentices, in 1935 he opened his famed Taller de Las Delicias, which attracted a cohort of international artists, intellectuals, and Hollywood celebrities. Spratling’s emphasis on craftsmanship and his experimentation with different sources, including Mesoamerican art, Art Deco, and modernism, contributed to his great success and helped revitalize the Mexican silver industry.
Rachel Kaplan
2025
- Copyright
- © artist or artist's estate
