Fluted Shell Earrings

Named "fluted shells" by Spratling, these earrings take their form from a ribbed, shell-like silver shape that he treated as a reusable motif. The same design was also made with amethysts, and the fluted shell with amethysts was used to ornament the top of a rosewood box, so the motif crossed from jewelry into holloware.

The fluting gives the silver its movement and light, the ribbed surface catching and breaking reflection across the shell form. That Spratling carried the motif into a stone-set variant and onto a box shows how he developed a successful design across formats rather than confining it to one object.

As silver "fluted shell" earrings tied by name and design to a wider group of pieces, they belong to the workshop's jewelry where a single shell motif served jewelry and holloware alike.