William Spratling
Arrow Bird Brooch (Prendedor en forma de pájaro-flecha)circa 1949-1951

Not on view

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Artist or Maker: William Spratling
United States, active Mexico, 1900-1967
Title: Arrow Bird Brooch (Prendedor en forma de pájaro-flecha)
Date Made: circa 1949-1951
Medium: Silver, obsidian
Dimensions: 3/4 × 4 3/8 × 1 3/8 in. (1.91 × 11.11 × 3.49 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California
Accession Number: M.2022.286.2
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Trained as an architect, William 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. Following his successes in Mexico, in 1945 Spratling presented a plan to the U.S. Indian Arts and Crafts Board to launch a similar initiative in Alaska and help revitalize a Native craft industry (see M.2013.5.1). Many of his subsequent works reflect the impact of this project and Indigenous Alaskan models, including this streamlined brooch design that draws on the clean geometry of Alaskan arrows. The dynamic contrast of the silver and obsidian arrows enhances the work’s sense of movement to suggest a bird in flight.

Rachel Kaplan

2024

Not on view

No image

Artist or Maker: William Spratling
United States, active Mexico, 1900-1967
Title: Arrow Bird Brooch (Prendedor en forma de pájaro-flecha)
Date Made: circa 1949-1951
Medium: Silver, obsidian
Dimensions: 3/4 × 4 3/8 × 1 3/8 in. (1.91 × 11.11 × 3.49 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California
Accession Number: M.2022.286.2
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Trained as an architect, William 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. Following his successes in Mexico, in 1945 Spratling presented a plan to the U.S. Indian Arts and Crafts Board to launch a similar initiative in Alaska and help revitalize a Native craft industry (see M.2013.5.1). Many of his subsequent works reflect the impact of this project and Indigenous Alaskan models, including this streamlined brooch design that draws on the clean geometry of Alaskan arrows. The dynamic contrast of the silver and obsidian arrows enhances the work’s sense of movement to suggest a bird in flight.

Rachel Kaplan

2024