Cross of Four Circles with Four Inset Amethysts

A cross formed of four circles, each set with an inset amethyst, treats a devotional form as a piece of light, open geometry. Rather than a solid Latin cross, the design resolves into four linked rings, the violet amethysts marking each one against the silver. It is described as light in weight, and the openwork supports that. The cross is recorded in Penny Morrill's William Spratling and the Mexican Silver Renaissance: Maestros de Plata and in Phyllis Goddard's field guide.

The four-circle structure gives a religious subject a distinctly modern, abstracted treatment, the amethysts providing color at the cardinal points.

Documented in two major references, this cross is a clear example of how the workshop reinterpreted a traditional form through its own geometric vocabulary.