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A five-pointed star, its spears interspersed with bands of azur-malachite flanked by silver, makes up this pendant that doubles as a pin: the radiating form combines worked metal with the banded blue-green stone, and three silver beads terminate each malachite strip. The star is built outward from the center in alternating metal and stone, a piece of radial geometry.
The pendant belongs to the First Design Period, 1931 to 1946. The inlay of azur-malachite into silver, and the beaded terminals, draw on the workshop's vocabulary of stone-and-metal combination that marks the Taxco school's experimental approach to materials (Stromberg, p. 41).
The piece is recorded in Phyllis M. Goddard's Spratling Silver: A Field Guide. Azur-malachite star pendants are among the more sculptural of the stone-set designs and are sought by collectors.
Star Brooch, 1944-1946
Accession M.2015.249.1. Official museum record Photo: Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Verified against each institution's own collection records. All museum collections
Museum of Mexican Silver. “Azur Malachite Star Pendant.” Catalog no. MoMS-000405. https://museumofmexicansilver.com/pieces/spratling-2084
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William Spratling
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