Coffa Siciliana
€400,00
70 in stock
Description by the artist
The Sicilian “coffa” recalls the ancient shape of Sicilian straw bags. They were enriched with precious fabrics, stones and very refined passamenterie skillfully sewn by good seamstresses! The Sicilian ceramic coffa, modeled and decorated entirely by hand, can be used as desired by the customer: it can be an umbrella stand, a magazine rack, a plant holder. But above all as an artistic piece that enriches your environment with art.
Details and dimensions
The artwork in the Sicilian culture
The sicilian coffa is a basket made with the weaving of the curina, the heart of the dwarf palm. The coffa bags were used to put the fodder or bran to give to the horse or donkey, in this case it was tied by the handles to the head of the animal.The coffa was also used by farmers for sowing, while the larger one called zimmili was used to carry the harvest of the day, or the wood to bring home, or even to put inside a small child and keep him warm . This object brings us back to the middle of 1300 when the Aragonese ruled Sicily. A certain Guglielmo Buccheri, a hermit then beatified, was called cuffitedda because he used to carry the coffa over his shoulder. Today, the coffa has become a fashion accessory for women: you can find a folkloristic bag decorated with chimes and mirrors that recalls the harnesses of the horses of Sicilian carts, or embellished with embroidery and lace, it becomes an evening bag.
(photo) Sicilian women making coffa sat outside a house, in a small village in the inland of Sicily, 1950