Earrings of Scrolled Bands with Incised Lines

Scrolled bands incised with parallel lines, finished with a silver ball dangling at the bottom, give these earrings their movement and their first-period character. The scroll is a form Spratling worked repeatedly in his early jewelry, and the incised lines add a worked surface that catches light along the curve.

The hanging silver ball resolves each earring, adding weight and motion below the scrolled band. It is a small, complete sculptural idea repeated as a pair, the kind of well-resolved early form the Taxco workshop produced in quantity.

Scrolled-band earrings of this type belong to Spratling's first design period and come to market only occasionally. With the form and its silver drop the design speaks for itself.