Silver Eagle Brooch

Spratling called this brooch the "all silver eagle" in his catalog, and described it with three cascabels, small bells, suspended from a ring held in the bird's beak. The design has a tight production window: it appeared in his catalogs only from 1962 until his death in 1967, though records of its sale go back to the mid-1950s, and the 1967 wholesale price was $6. It is recorded in Morrill and Berk's "Mexican Silver" and Goddard's field guide.

The piece sits in a deliberate context within Spratling's late output: during this period he designed and produced fewer pins than other jewelry categories, and the survivors tend toward the stylized, built on simple lines and the play of light against contrasting shadow. The all-silver eagle, with its suspended cascabels, is a refined example of that economy.

The eagle motif itself draws on the pre-Columbian repertoire Spratling translated into silver throughout his career.

With its narrow documented production window, its catalog pricing, and its place in two references, the all-silver eagle is a well-recorded example of Spratling's spare, late brooch designs. This design has been reissued.