Silson Cascabel Necklace

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.