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U coppu e lu mari

Wall tile Shells Tile Various materials
Single artwork

500,00

Description by the artist

U coppu e lu mari (Sicilian for the tile and the sea) is a biscuit tile covered with cement, gauze and plaster. The designs are made with elements from the Mediterranean Sea, such as pieces of majolica ,seaweed, stones and shells.

Details and dimensions

Dimensions (cm): Height 50, Width 22, Depth 7
Weight (kg): 3.8
Handcrafted in Sicily

The artwork in the Sicilian culture

By the Governance of Sicilian Artisan Foundation

The Mediterranean Sea is the sea that bathes Sicily, an island that is located right in the middle of it and for this reason it has always been a coveted land for the control of the entire area.Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Siceliots … sailed it with their ships. It is a sea rich in varieties of fish. It is a sea rich in archaeological finds from ships sunk over the centuries. It is a sea that 50 million years ago dried up and then tectonic uplifts led it to form the current mountains of Sicily. That’s why you can find shells and fishes walking on the summits of eastern Sicily. It is a sea that reminds us of the Temple of Venus Erice, the most revered temple of antiquity of sailors, right on top of Mount Erice, western Sicily. It is the mare Nostrum!

The coppo is a terracotta tile, curved, particularly used in the past especially to cover the roofs of houses.

Photo Prizzi, hinterland of Sicily, roofs with coppi, 1928

The Governance also suggests

The objective of the Governance is both to safeguard the traditions and ancient crafts of the people of Sicily, and to sustain economically the Artisans and the Artists, both the real ethno-anthropologists of the country.
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