Carving from a Sicilian Cart

 

A carving from a horse cart. Also known as carretto siciliano in Italian, and carrettu sicilianu in Sicilian.

 

Carts reached the pinnacle of popularity in Sicily in the 1920s. The cart has become a symbol of the island of Sicily.  The Museo del Carretto Siciliano, is located in Terrasini, Palermo, Sicily.  It is a museum dedicated to the decorative art of these wonderful folk art carts.

 

This piece is about 13 inches long X 2 1/4 inches thick X 5 1/2 inches tall.  Remnants of the decorative paint remain though faded.  These carts can be wildly decorated in many colors, the horses, too, dripping with fringe and plumes.  Today, though sometimes in regular use, they tend to be brought out for festas and special occasions.

I bought this one, feeling more connections to Sicily in the family.  This is a part of our heritage.

This piece is an especially fine example, though there is little paint.  Very few had so much rich carving as this, most being satisfied with the tops of posts and surface carving to accent the colors and give them more dimension.
I found this one at auction and could not pass it up.
Originally advertised as a crest rail. now that I have it in hand, I see that there is a channel. though shallow, along the top, suggesting that there was another panel or rail above it.
The carts generally had a metal frame below with the wooden superstructure above.  This piece has a deep square groove in the bottom that has much rust on the entire surface, so I now assume it must have been from the foundation of the cart.
Also, there was a small and faded tag on it that seemed to say: "Sicily 18th century__________"
Of course this is possible, as these are a long standing tradition in Sicily, and would be passed from generation to generation.  They did, however, have their heyday more recently.  The earliest that are likely would be the early to mid 1800s.
I have seen complete carts in decent condition going for more than $60,000.00.
When you hack a chunk out of any museum piece, it diminishes that value, but if a cart was badly damaged, it might be an answer to getting a good price from it to cut it up and sell the pieces.  I do not like to assign value to something(This was over 100 dollars and the former owner said she had purchased it on line for over 200.  I felt that I go away cheaply) but rather, like jewelry, you invest in something that sparks your imagination and you really want, without regard to the actual value.  It has a heritage value, and that is enough for me.

 

ANOTHER BOOK RECOMMENDATION

I have just ordered this book.  I kept quiet about it for a while as I gathered up the cash to buy it. 

I think this is great for those who are nostalgic about the islands of our ancestors.  It is, I believe, out of print.  That is what I seem to find all the time.  It can be quite expensive when you do find it, as it will probably be something that will be shipped from Italy.  Plan on a maximum of about  $50.00 US.  This, in case you do not read Italian, is a series of prints in black and white from the 19th century.  It is all about the countryside and the architecture of the islands.  I have tried to upload my sketches of the boats, for instance, but this will give you an accurate view of them as well as a host of other information that may never be available to you otherwise.

You may have to search Italian sites to get it, but a general search on the Internet may turn one up.  Mine came from Italian EBAY.

If you simply put this line into the search bar of your home page, several sites will come up with the book.  Just copy and paste this:

 

 Le isole Eolie. Paesaggio e architettura nelle stampe dell'800