Embossed Button Belt Buckle

A silver belt buckle dominated by two large embossed buttons shows the early Taxco workshop applying its love of the bold round form to a piece of hardware. The embossing raises the buttons from the surface so the buckle reads as sculptural rather than flat, a substantial object meant to be seen.

The piece dates from the first design period, 1931 to 1946, the founding years of Spratling's Las Delicias taller in Taxco. Belt buckles let the workshop work at a larger scale than jewelry allowed.

Heavy early buckles are sought by collectors who want the Spratling vocabulary in a wearable but architectural form, and the paired embossed buttons make this one immediately legible.