Eagle and Serpent Brooch

The eagle and the serpent, the central image of Mexico's national myth, are rendered together in this brooch, a subject that sat at the core of Spratling's engagement with the country's past.

His pre-Columbian sources were a "point of departure" rather than copies (Morrill, p. 39), and the eagle imagery drew on finds like the Monte Albán treasures that shaped Las Delicias designs (Morrill, p. 38). The eagle and serpent carry that lineage into a wearable emblem.

The design was also produced by Silson, the New York firm that manufactured Spratling designs in a silver-plate material in the early 1940s. The brooch dates to the First Design Period, 1931 to 1946, and is recorded in Reflections: Pre-Columbian Inspiration in Mexican Silver Design, 1930-1970.