Owl Bracelet with Copper Eyes

An owl worked in silver with copper set into the eyes, this bracelet belongs to Spratling's first design period and to the strain of figural, animal-based work that ran through his early production. The owl is reduced to its essential form, the copper eyes providing the one note of contrasting color and the focal point of the design.

That use of an animal subject reflects the broader approach of the Taxco workshop in these years, where Spratling took motifs from Mexico's visual heritage and translated them into forms accessible to a wider audience (Stromberg, p. 27). The owl bracelet carries that translation onto the wrist as a single, legible figure.

The piece is recorded in Warman's Jewelry, which places it within the documented body of collected Spratling work. Early figural bracelets of this kind come to market only occasionally.