Low Rectangular Box of Tin and Glass

A low rectangular box of tin and glass, with scalloped tin for decoration and tin corner motifs that help secure the glass lid, this First Design Period piece belongs to Spratling's tinwork, a less familiar but genuine part of his workshop's output. An example of the same design has been seen with amber glass, so it exists in more than one glass color.

Spratling's revival of Mexican folk crafts included a tin shop. Morrill records that his workshop produced frames, candlesticks, and other tin objects under the tinsmith Don Isidro Mejia (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 36). A scalloped tin-and-glass box is part of that production.

The scalloped tin and the corner brackets are both decorative and functional, holding the glass while giving the box its character. The low rectangular form keeps it useful as a tabletop container.

That the design exists with clear and with amber glass shows Spratling treating even a tin box as a design with variants. Tinwork survives in small numbers, so a documented example is a useful record of this folk-craft side of the workshop.