Flowing Ribbons Bracelet

Flattened twisted links alternating with plain circular links give this bracelet a braided, rhythmic structure, the twist set against the smooth ring down its length. It is a First Design Period piece, from Spratling's earliest decade of production.

The worked twist belongs to the cord-derived vocabulary Spratling named as a source for his early designs, forms drawn from the corded ornament of saddle and rope work and reworked into silver (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 156). Alternating the twist with a plain link turns that texture into a measured pattern.

The same design was also used as a necklace and belt, the workshop's habit of carrying one form across uses. Bracelets of this twisted-link type come to market only occasionally.