Jasper and Malachite Buckle

A rectangular belt buckle set with wedges of red jasper and azur malachite, with malachite triangles answering in two diagonal corners, is Spratling working at the intersection of metalwork and stone. The heavy buckle was one of the earliest forms his workshop produced, and here it becomes a field for a small composition in colored stone.

The stones are cut to fit the geometry rather than dropped into ready settings, the same disciplined fitting of material to design that runs through his work. The diagonal corner triangles set the rectangle into motion, a geometric handling consistent with the architectural sense Morrill connects to Spratling (Morrill, p. 224).

Buckles inlaid with jasper and azur malachite from this brief Second Period window come to market infrequently, and the specific arrangement of wedges and corner triangles marks this one as a considered design rather than a stock setting.