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Pair of Spurs

Decorative Arts and Design

An American architect, teacher, and writer, William Spratling helped to revive the moribund silver trade in Taxco in the 1930s after the town’s mines closed in the preceding decade in the wake of the Mexican Revolution. Spratling’s designs for silver frequently melded modern design forms with pre-Columbian motifs from Aztec, Mayan, and Olmec sources.
MEDIUM Silver
  • Place Made: Taxco, Mexico
  • DATES before 1952
    DIMENSIONS 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (21.6 x 8.9 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 52.166.22
    CREDIT LINE Museum Collection Fund and Dick S. Ramsay Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION A pair of silver spurs said to have been copied from an old pair now in the Museo Nacional in Mexico which belonged to Mr. Algara's family. There is no definite proof of this, however. They were made by William Spratling. They are engraved and decorated with relief carvings of dogs along the edges. Each rowel has twelve points and there is a silver chain in back of each spur. Condition: good
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION William Spratling (American, 1900-1967). Pair of Spurs, before 1952. Silver, 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (21.6 x 8.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund and Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 52.166.22. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.166.22.jpg)
    IMAGE group, 52.166.22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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