Ebony Handled Pie Server with Three Applied Silver Ribs

Three applied silver ribs run along the ebony handle of this pie server, giving a serving piece a clear bit of designed detailing where the hand grips it. It is recorded in three references, including Morrill and Berk's Mexican Silver and Phyllis M. Goddard's field guide, with wholesale catalog prices of $16 in 1958-59 rising to $19.20 by 1967.

The pairing of ebony with applied silver ribs is the kind of material contrast Spratling favored, the dark wood set against the bright metal and the ribs giving the handle texture and grip. The span of catalog prices documents a design kept in production across nearly a decade.

Serving silver of this kind is collected alongside Spratling's jewelry, and a documented ebony-and-silver pie server is a desirable example of the workshop's table pieces.