Category: Ceramics
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Look History in the Eyes
This theatrical mask (with wig originally fixed to the holes) from the beginning of the 5th century BC is on display at the archaeological museum in Siracusa, the Museo Orsi. This and thousands of other artifacts in this outstanding museum tell Sicily’s 3000 years of human history.
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Floor as Status Symbol
In January, when my cousin Giulia and I visited the private museum Stanze al Genio in Palermo, we learned that many of the majolica works of art that decorate churches and palazzi throughout Sicily are from Naples. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, for noble families and wealthy churches that could afford such decor, it…
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A Bust of Persephone
Clay busts of Kore/Persephone, such as this one pictured from the archaeological museum in Aidone (Enna Province), have been found throughout Sicily, proving the significance of the goddess and her story. In the 5th century to the 3rd century B.C., for example, women devotees prayed to Kore for healthful fertility and protection during various stages…
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Our May 2016 Sicily Tour, Day 12: Artisans Up Close
These are the hands of ceramic artist Mirella Pipia in Bagheria. This is how I like to see Sicily: up close and personal and vibrant. On the final full day of our Experience Sicily with Chef Melissa Muller tour from May 19-31, 2016, we’ll get personal with some artisans in Bagheria, the town where my…
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Beautiful Box
Ceramic box by Bagheria’s Mirella Pipia.
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This Little Piggy Went to the Thesmophoria
Terracotta statuettes of Demeter holding a piglet have been found at archaeological sites throughout the landscapes of ancient Greater Greece. Such statuettes often indicate that at the site where they were found, there was once a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess of the earth, agriculture, and fertility. In archaeological museums throughout Sicily you will see…
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Happy Valentine’s Day with a Kiss
Happy Valentine’s Day! Terracotta statuette of a reclining couple from the first century AD, excavated in 1967 in the Akradina district of Siracusa (Museo Orsi, Siracusa)
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A Different Kind of Feast for the Eyes
My highlight of today’s adventures in Palermo, in terms of sightseeing, was a visit to the private museum, Stanze al Genio, a collection of majolica ceramic floor tiles focused on designs from Naples and Sicily created from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Housed in the 17th-century Palazzo…
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Another Legend Explaining the Moor’s Head
In the past, I’ve recounted one legend of the origins of the decapitated Moor’s-head vase. Last spring while visiting my friend Sebastiano, co-owner of Gelsomino Imports (Sicilian artisanal products), in Castelvetrano, he told me of a different legend of the origins of these ubiquitous ceramic vases, like these pictured in Taormina. It goes something like…