Sculpture Cockerel H23
Polychrome, three-dimensional ceramic Grottaglie cockerel; molded, engobed and painted by hand with meticulous attention to colorful detail.
The lathe-molded base is shaped and covered with individually applied small feathers. The wings with their synthetic and stylized form are laid on the object and the sumptuous tail preforms from long cords of clay. The object thus shaped is then covered with an "engobe" (light-colored clay) and then etched with decorations on the wings. Dried and fired a first time it is ready for glazing and coloring by means of colored ceramic glazes and paints. Once again it is placed in the kiln where the glazes melt and become the bright and shiny coating that characterizes the work.
The Grottaglie cockerel is a good luck charm and a decorative element that brings cheer and liveliness to any environment.
Grottaglie ceramics are famous worldwide for their bright colors and original shapes, and this rooster is a perfect example of this handcrafted tradition, a unique work of art, a symbol of strength, courage and fertility.
In the past, European culture considered the rooster to be a sunny and joyful animal whose powerful song heralded the dawn and drove away night demons, lions, basilisks and any other animal that populated restless dreams. In the Middle Ages, the administration of rooster crest was believed to cure those suffering from nightmares while the ingestion of the testicles had an aphrodisiac effect and encouraged women to bear male children.
Its aggressiveness in fighting for territory and a permanent readiness for mating made it the symbolic animal of virility. In Christian symbolism, the rooster represented Christ bringing the dawn of the new day of faith "The certainty of light." Already present in Greek ceramics (the rooster is associated with Mercury). In Grottaglie the "cockerel" during the 20th century established itself as a decorative element of ceramics with a popular imprint, a symbolic expression of fertility, so widespread as to come to be almost identified with it.
By purchasing this cockerel, you will not only bring a piece of Apulia into your home, but you will also support local crafts and Apulian culture.