The Sardinian Pavoncella (Lapwing) 0 Comments

The Sardinian Pavoncella (Lapwing)

We find it in fabrics, chests, pottery, carpets, jewels, and even in the bread baked for special festivities.
Illustrations of birds, puligas (chicken) or affuragias (sparrows), is one of the most common shapes of Sardinian craftsmanship.

The Sardinian Pavoncella has become art, as Giuseppe Biasi (painter) wrote in Sardinian Art"The carving motifs, always well-sized, flourished in the houses, especially those motifs of the chicken and the birds. Offspring of the Liberty Art, Sardinian style was successful for its more or less stylized carving applications."

But what does the pavoncella mean?

Arrived in Sardinia with the Byzantines at the time of the Giudicati, in the agro-pastoral life is a symbol of fertility, abundant rains for crops, healthy flocks. It is associated with the Phoenix, which rises from its ashes, which then symbolizes the Christian resurrection of the soul. Its very  representation in the bread is also attesting all the strength of its significance. 

“[...]Do you see that flock of pavoncelle that just a while ago got through the winter in Sardinia? Do you see them going out during the night on the secluded dunes where they were resting? (Giuseppe Ungaretti )

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written by Daniela Toti

 

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