Silson Necklace of Curved Incised Bands and Three Sets

Curved incised bands and three sets of false cascabeles distinguish this necklace, made in silver plate under the Silson name rather than in Spratling's own sterling: it belongs to the licensed costume-jewelry line that carried his designs to a wider American market in base metal. The cascabeles, the little Mexican bells rendered here as decorative non-ringing forms, are a folk reference adapted to a fashion piece.

The incised banding gives the curved elements a worked surface, echoing the engraved decoration of the sterling production while the silver-plate construction marks the piece as a different, more accessible tier of output.

Silson-line pieces occupy a distinct place among Spratling-associated jewelry and are collected as evidence of how his designs reached the costume market.