William Spratling pastry server 9" all sterling silver. Hallmarked circa 1940's. 925 silver.

Please note that this lot has a reserve. When you leave a bid in advance of the auction, submit your maximum. LiveAuctioneers will bid on your behalf as much as necessary to ensure that you meet the reserve price or that you remain in the lead, up to your maximum. The bidder who has submitted the highest bid wins the lot, provided the bid exceeds the reserve price.

Buyer pays shipping. This item ships from San Francisco, CA

Authenticity is guaranteed. Photos, descriptions and estimates were prepared with the utmost care by a fully certified expert and appraiser.

Your purchase is protected. In the rare event that your purchase from this auction does not meet your expectations, LiveAuctioneers specialists are here to help. If the item did not confirm to the lot description in the sale, U.S. buyers may return the item for a full refund provided you notify LiveAuctioneers within 5 days of receiving your the item. LiveAuctioneers is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau of New York State.

BIOGRAPHY

William Spratling
William Spratling was born in 1900 in Sonyea, New York. His father was well respected and widely known for his study and writings concerning epilepsy. After the death of both Spratling's mother and sister, Wilhelmina, in 1910, Spratling's father moved temporarily to his father's Alabama home (known as Roamer's Roost) with sons William and David as well as older daughter, Lucile. At that time, the three Spratling children became wards of their grandfather. By the end of 1912, the family had moved once more and the children were separated; each went to live with with various aunts and uncles.



In 1917 William Spratling attended Auburn University and a year or two later, during his stay at Auburn served as an instructor in architecture. Spratling moved to New Orleans in 1921 where he was an Associate Professor of Architecture at Tulane University.

During the following nine years, Spratling published articles in Scribner’s Magazine, Journal of the A.I.A., Architecture Record, and many other architecture and travel publications. He became an active part of the New Orleans literary colony during those years, and his frequent companions were Natalie Scott, Sherwood Anderson, Oliver La Farge, Frans Blom, John Dos Passos and William Faulkner. Faulkner lived with Spratling for a time, and together they wrote and published Sherwood Anderson and Other Famous Creoles in 1926.

1926 was also when Spratling visited Mexico for the first time. He returned for summers over the next several years, and in 1929, moved to Mexico. Spratling quickly was introduced to and became a welcome participant in the artistic circles of Mexico. His activities in promoting the art of Diego Rivera among New York galleries led to his participation in the first exhibition of Mexican arts held in the United States. The exhibit was funded by the Carnegie Institute and opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Spratling assisted in assembling the exhibit and also lent a number of his own pieces. During this same period, Spratling was working on drawings for the expanding Morrow home in Cuernavaca. Many of these drawings were included in the book written by Elizabeth Morrow, Casa Mañana.

Dwight Morrow, the US Ambassador to Mexico, suggested to Spratling in 1931 that Taxco had been the site of silver mines for centuries, but Taxco had never been considered a location where jewelry and objects of silver were designed and made. Subsequently, Spratling hired an experienced goldsmith from Iguala who moved to Taxco and created silver jewelry of Spratling’s design. Other craftsmen joined Spratling's shop and produced tin ware, copper items, textiles and furniture - all designed by Spratling. These earliest designs were based on pre-Columbian motifs as well as simple themes utilizing rope borders, strap designs and other such basic ideas. The enterprise grew far beyond Spratling’s expectations.

Because he had created an apprentice system of training young silversmiths many new talented artisans had an opportunity to develop their craft. Over time many of these artisans opened shops of their own – all with Spratling’s support.

During the Second World War, U.S. department stores were unable to import merchandise from Europe, and many retail stores purchased luxury goods in Mexico. In order to meet this dramatic increase in demand, Spratling opened his company to private investors, and by the end of 1944 had lost control of his company. Early in 1946, Spratling y Artesanos was out of business.

By this time, Spratling had moved to a ranch he had earlier purchased south of Taxco at Taxco-el-Viejo. He never again lived within the town of Taxco.

Spratling continued to rebuild his business and had silversmiths fabricating his jewelry and object designs at his ranch. His designs were also produced by the Conquistador Company in Mexico City for a couple of years. Spratling published More Human Than Divine in 1960 and his archaeological interests not only continued but by the early 1960s seemed to take precedence over the creation of new silver designs. He donated collections of his pre-Columbian materials to the National University of Mexico and the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

Spratling has been called by many "a Renaissance Man." Throughout Mexico he is acknowledged as "The Father of Mexican Silver." Certainly the town of Taxco and its economy would be vastly different without the initiative and creativity of this man. He complemented its valuable historic past with a new vitality and spirit which recognized the importance of the indigenous culture. The artistic and economic foundation he established continues to flourish today.

William Spratling was killed on August 7, 1967 in an automobile accident just outside Taxco.

Excerpt taken from Spratling Silver by Phillis Goddard