Dugout Canoe Brooch

A dugout canoe rendered in silver, with five cascabeles hanging beneath it, this brooch draws directly on Mexican vernacular subject matter, the small bells turning a static form into one that moves and sounds. Spratling built much of his early reputation on exactly this: taking a humble local object and giving it the dignity of fine silver.

The suspended cascabeles are a recurring device in Taxco jewelry, and here they anchor the canoe with rhythm and weight. Spratling worked in 980 silver rather than sterling and marked each design with the joined "WS" adapted from his horse brand (Morrill, p. 39).

With no recorded reference, the brooch turns on mark, the presence of all five bells, and condition.