Oval Scalloped Picture Frame

An oval scalloped picture frame produced by flat chasing, this First Design Period object shows Spratling applying jewelry-grade surface technique to a household piece. The scalloped edge and the chased decoration give a plain oval its rhythm and shape.

Domestic silver and decorative objects were a genuine part of the early workshop's program alongside jewelry. Spratling's shop produced frames and similar pieces, and his workshop also made picture and mirror frames in tin (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 36). A flat-chased silver frame belongs to that broader output for the home.

Flat chasing, working the design into the surface without removing metal, was done by hand on silver hammered flat in the early manner (Morrill, p. 36). The scalloped oval is a Colonial-flavored form, consistent with the European-derived shapes Spratling reinterpreted.

Frames and tabletop pieces survive in smaller numbers than Spratling's jewelry, so a First Period flat-chased oval frame is a useful example of his decorative holloware and household work.