Ebony Memorandum Holder

A large, heavy paper clip in ebony and silver, which Spratling called a memorandum holder, framed with inset circles and diamonds bordered by silver beads, shows him bringing design ambition to the most utilitarian desk object. The weight and the inset geometry turn a clip into a small piece of holloware.

The pairing of ebony with silver is the material contrast Morrill ties to Spratling's affinity for Puiforcat, whose silver was set off by woods like rosewood (Morrill, p. 224). The inset circles and diamonds bordered by beads draw on the geometric vocabulary and bead-making that run through his work (Morrill, p. 36).

Desk objects in ebony and silver survive in smaller numbers than his jewelry, and the maker's own term, memorandum holder, anchors the identification of a piece that might otherwise read as a simple clip.