Bird and Bell Brooch

A bar brooch carrying a bird, with four bells at each end of the bar. The suspended cascabels are the distinguishing feature, the small bells framing the central bird in a composition that gives the brooch both movement and a faint sound. It is recorded in Morrill's "William Spratling and the Mexican Silver Renaissance: Maestros de Plata" and Goddard's field guide.

The bird-and-bells pairing draws on the figural repertoire Spratling worked through his first design period, the cascabels a recurring device in his jewelry that carried a folk resonance. Suspending bells from a bar gives the brooch a kinetic quality beyond its silhouette.

Made at the Taller de Las Delicias he founded in Taxco in 1931, the brooch is a characteristic example of that figural work. Its place in two references, including Morrill's Maestros de Plata, makes it a documented example of Spratling's first-period design.