Tortoise Shell "Pretzel" Earrings

These earrings belong to Spratling's tortoiseshell "pretzel" series, a coordinated group that also included a necklace and a bracelet, and their construction makes ornament out of function: the silver rivets that attach the tortoiseshell to the silver backing are treated as an integral part of the design. The looping "pretzel" form gives the series its name.

The exposed rivet, made into a design element rather than hidden, is a characteristic Spratling move, letting the means of construction become part of the look. Tortoiseshell against silver supplies the contrast of warm translucent material with bright metal, recalling his broader pairing of natural materials with silver.

As part of a documented suite spanning earrings, necklace, and bracelet, the earrings belong to a fully worked-out design family rather than a single piece, and tortoiseshell jewelry of this kind comes to market only occasionally.