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The Northstar necklace is one of Spratling's signature designs, here in its larger, more squared version: a panel of azur malachite set in hand-fabricated silver, hung from a chain of elongated links. The geometric panel construction makes the star a matter of clean silver structure rather than literal depiction.
The North Star motif and its blue malachite variations are documented in the scholarship (Morrill, p. 66), a design Spratling carried across pieces and even into his later proposals for native-materials workshops. The squared, larger format gives the malachite room to dominate the composition.
An example of this necklace is held by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2018.68.57), placing the design in a major public collection.
The piece is recorded in Mary Davis and Greta Pack's Mexican Jewelry and in Penny Morrill's Maestros de Plata.
Northstar Necklace, circa 1949-1950
Accession M.2018.68.57. Official museum record Photo: Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Verified against each institution's own collection records. All museum collections
Museum of Mexican Silver. “Northstar Necklace.” Catalog no. MoMS-000506. https://museumofmexicansilver.com/pieces/spratling-3011
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Necklace of Large Silver Beads
Third Design Period: 1951 - 1967
Silver
