EXTREMELY RARE VINTAGE HAND PAINTED CERAMIC ROOSTER/WINE PITCHER DESIMONE-ITALY

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EXTREMELY RARE VINTAGE HAND PAINTED CERAMIC ROOSTER/WINE PITCHER DESIMONE-ITALY:
$249.00

EXTREMELY RARE One of a kind LARGE VINTAGE HAND PAINTED CERAMIC ROOSTER / HEN WATER PITCHER DESIMONE - ITALY

This pitcher is very rare as it is the only one I could find with this design and with a blue head. Also it was hand-signed by Giovanni Desimone in his factory, Ceramica Giovanni in Deruta Italy.

Excellent condition!

Original paperwork on the history of the chicken pitchers from Ceramica Giovanni\'s factory in Vietri Sul Mare. Not a copy

The origin of the chicken pitchers dates back to the early Renaissance in the Republic of Florence. The leading family in the Republic at the time was the Medici family. It\'s patriarch was the famous Lorenzo the Magnificent who had one brother, Giuliano. The Medicis where the wealthiest and most powerful family in the republic. They\'re only serious rival for power was the Pazzi family. The Pazzis were trying to take power by the normal method used at that time…assassination.

The Medicis\' wealth was partially based upon their large land holdings which their peasants in the nearby villages worked on. Occasionally, the Medicis would throw large festivals in these villages for the peasants. Giuliano especially like to do this and would do so on the slightest suggestion.

Knowing this, the Pazzis had someone suggest to Giuliano that he would throw a festival in the small village of Gallina, where one had never been held before. Giuliano agreed, and the Pazzis plotted to kill Giuliano and his guards the night after the festival when they would be most vulnerable (due to the vast amounts of wine drunk during the party).

In the fall of 1478, Giuliano and his entourage including guards, cooks and craftsman went to Gallina (which no longer exists today) to throw the festival. The Pazzis hired assassin\'s to sneak into town late at night after the festival to kill Giuliano. They would have succeeded except they had to cross a yard field with chickens to get to him. The chickens started cackling in a great frenzy and woke up Giuliano and his guards. The assassins or so startled they froze. They were caught and executed.

Giuliano was so thrilled that the chickens had warned him that he threw another festival the following night. He ordered his artisians to create ceramic copies of chickens to be used as wine pitchers. These he gave to the peasants and their friends for good luck in warding off assassins. It is now an Italian tradition to give a chicken pitcher to friends and family to protect them from trespassers and danger.

I spent a lot of time researching this particular chicken pitcher on , other sale houses and on the web and this is a One-Of-Kind design and coloring including the signature on the bottom. As there are quite a few of these circulating, this is truly a collector item in comparison.

Measures approximately 8 1/2 inches tall. Pitcher opening approximately 4.5\" x 2\". Measures approximately 14 inches around the widest base of the pitcher.

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