Silver Fist Mahogany Ashtray

A flattened pyramid of mahogany resting on four square legs, with an inset round silver bowl set into a square frame, this ashtray is conceived as a small architectural object rather than a utilitarian one. It is recorded in both Penny C. Morrill's Maestros de Plata and Phyllis M. Goddard's Spratling Silver field guide, and dates to the third design period, 1951 to 1967.

The detailing rewards close looking: a silver "fist" placed at the center of each of the four silver sides of the bowl depression, and applied silver discs on the outer faces of each leg. This interplay of geometric mahogany volumes with silver accents is characteristic of the later workshop's sculptural holloware, where Spratling combined wood and metal into composed, freestanding forms.

The pairing of native woods with silver runs throughout Spratling's output, and a documented mahogany-and-silver ashtray of this complexity is among the more sculptural objects the later workshop produced, sought by collectors of his table pieces.