Moorish heads in Caltagirone ceramic - Queen decorated in Bordeaux
This Testa di Moro is very particular, in fact it is colored with a rather unusual but very modern color: Bordeaux.
Then this moorish head is decorated with a white crown, black pearls, a black necklace and red and yellow details on the face, all covered by a burgundy cloth inside which white flowers are depicted.
The ceramics of Caltagirone are established all over the world thanks to their infinite artistic heritage that comes from the skilled hands of local craftsmen.
The Moorish heads are also reproduced in pairs and are symbols of Sicily par excellence.
Entirely modeled and decorated by hand by the master craftsmen of Caltagirone, who take care of every single detail to make it a real object of art, an icon of centuries-old tradition and culture.
In this queen there is the beauty and charm of Sicilian art, to furnish a house, a garden or a shop with style and elegance, perhaps placing a beautiful plant or fresh flowers inside.
Its dimensions are 20 x 11 cm.
N.B. The objects made in Caltagirone ceramics are made entirely by hand, therefore, sizes, shapes and colors may undergo slight variations compared to the object depicted in the photo
HISTORY OF THE MOOR'S HEADS
The Moorish heads are one of the symbols that best represent the tradition of Caltagirone ceramics.
These small sculptures are often used as decorative elements to embellish houses, theatres, cinemas, but also squares and cities
Its legend has various facets, the most macabre begins in Palermo in the Arab quarter 'Al Hâlisah, today called the Kalsa, where the sultan once stayed, due to the Arab domination in Sicily.
The sultan, one day seeing a girl passing under his balcony, fell in love with her. The girl reciprocated and from here a love story was born.
But the story changed when the girl discovered that the sultan had a family and children in her country of origin, so during the night she killed him with a sword and cut off his head, which once severed she used as a flower vase on his balcony.
Another legend, perhaps more realistic, says that the girl, who was of noble origins, had a clandestine love affair with a young Arab. This love, which was impossible for the times, when it was discovered by the girl's family caused a stir, leading to the beheading of the two young lovers.
The shame of this love would later be proclaimed by posting both heads, transformed into vases for the occasion, on a balcony. The massacre, exalted by the heads placed on passers-by, would have been a warning against any other possible unseemly passion.
For this reason the Sicilian Moorish Heads are made in pairs, in memory and in honor of the two murdered lovers.
