Scalloped Tin Framed Mirror

Tin nails set around a scalloped wooden frame turn this mirror into an object of humble materials handled with design care, the scalloped tin border holding the glass within a rhythm of nail heads. Spratling worked readily in tin and wood as well as silver, and this mirror shows that range applied to a piece for the wall.

The scalloped edge and the regular run of tin nails give the frame both outline and texture, the modest metal organized into ornament. Working in tin placed objects like this within a broader market than his silver while keeping the same attention to form.

The mirror is recorded in Morrill's William Spratling and the Mexican Silver Renaissance: Maestros de Plata and in Goddard's Spratling Silver: A Field Guide. As a documented tin-and-wood object it represents the wider craft output of the studio beyond precious metal.