Posted 12 years ago
vetraio50
(756 items)
What can be more Italian than this Ciuccio (or Ciucciariello)?
Pronounced: choo-choh (or choo-cha-ree-elloh).
Or is it a figure from the Wiener Werkstatte?
Recently I read an article on an Italian collector of these ‘Ciucci’ these donkeys: “Antonio Dipino, owner and chef of a renowned restaurant, has been collecting art pottery of the region for many years. … His eyes shone while he told me how a group of German artists settled in Vietri in the 20’s. Working side by side with Vietri craftsmen they blended the local pottery making style and the new art trends, revitalizing the millennium-old ceramic tradition that was stuck in the repetition of old fashioned products, no longer in tune with the contemporary taste.”
This era is referred to as the 'periodo tedesco', the German period.
These German artists interested me. The major name is Richard Doelker. But it also includes “Günther Stüdemann, Elle Schwarz, Margarete Thewalt Hannash, Irene Kowaliska, Marianne Amos … they marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Vietri pottery. They unleashed a creative power that influenced the artists of the region in the following decades, promoting the creative talent of Giovannino Carrano, Vincenzo Pinto, Giosuè and Salvatore Procida and Guido Gambone.”
http://www.thatsarte.com/blog/highlights/the-sudden-joy-of-a-close-encounter-with-vietri-pottery-art/
What interests me is that my little donkey (il mio asinello) is signed in a very un-Italian way.
It reads “ Paul s. Italy ”.
Not Paolo but Paul.
Walter Pellegrino has given me new information about this mark. See his comments below:
As the author of the first and only books written in English on the subject of Italian Pottery Identification I can help solve this mystery. The word is "Paul's. It was a an American Import Company located in New Jersey. The company was created in 1898 by Edward Paul. In the 1930's the company was purchased by the Arditti family who kept the original name of the company. A few years ago I interviewed Arthur Arditti, now in his 80's and discovered that the company began importing Italian ceramics in the late 1950's through the 1970's. Arthur, himself, made buyer's trip to various Italian towns and cities, particularly in the south. Contract documents show that Arditi insisted that the only the name "Paul's" appeared on the ceramics. It was a way of ensuring that competitors would not discover the firm's sources of supply. Paul's stopped importing Italian pottery in the late 1970's.
Walter Del Pellegrino
Check his comments 33 and 34.
Thanks Walter muchly!
Il caratteristico asinello (o’ ciucciariello) aka 'ciuccio'
These little Italian figures have always been seen as ‘kitsch’. They are becoming better appreciated these days and are synonymous with the Italian town of Vietri. They can date as early as the 1920’s!
"La loro produzione attinge dal repertorio naturale ed umano: pescatori, barche, donne e bambini, la luna ed il sole, i fiori ed infine il caratteristico asinello (o’ ciucciariello) che proprio i tedeschi Dolker e Kowaliska privilegiarono".
If I were to live in Italy this is the area where I would head: the Amalfi Coast (aka la Costiera Amalfatina or even better 'la Divina'). Vietri is a town known for its ceramics and these little donkeys were picked up by the tourists who visited the area south of Naples: Vesuvius, Pompeii, Ercolano, Sorrento and worked their way down the coastal roads in search of even better panoramas. Capri?
"Megghiu mori cicciu e no lu ciucciu, ca lu ciucciu porta ligna e cicciu no"
Many thanks mustangT and to you too kerry10456!
Many thanks ozMarty!
Many thanks Sean! Let's have a look!
I'm touched, Sean, as you are blessed!
Many thanks czechman and to you too AmberRose!
interesting kev -- when i search for things i always wonder what would sean, inky, elsa, or the others on cw think -- am i passing a treasure by -- but we all have different loves that trip our triggers -- thank goodness for diversity --
Many thanks Jericho and bratjdd too!
I really like your donkey! I am going to find some Italian ceramics! I spent quite a bit of time in Italy when I was young, 21 and 23. For some reason I stayed in Scilla (by the toe) sort of, in the castle which was a student type hostel. I helped clean it for free rent in the mornings. I camped at Lake Como for a couple of weeks also. I will watch for the names you mentioned!
Hi toracat, i hope you come across some of the Sicilian pieces. I have a charger plate here too on CW that shows the town of Vietri sul Mare....
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/20575-my-romolo-apicella-vietri-charger-signed
And thanks for your kind comments, toracat!
Many thanks Plaintosee!
Many thanks to those overnight here! Plaintosee, musikchoo, guyfrmatl, blunderbuss2, Phil, ho2cultcha and to you too inky!
That's the mystery, Sean!
Who is Paul S.?
Many thanks, Tonino!
I had a thought that it might be Paul G. too!
Many thanks, Sean. Many eyes and minds!
I hope not! ;(
Many thanks bratjdd!
Many thanks stef!
Many thanks pops52!
Hi miKKo! Thanks for the love!
Many thanks kelkat!
As the author of the first and only books written in English on the subject of Italian Pottery Identification I can help solve this mystery. The word is "Paul's. It was a an American Import Company located in New Jersey. The company was created in 1898 by Edward Paul. In the 1930's the company was purchased by the Arditti family who kept the original name of the company. A few years ago I interviewed Arthur Arditti, now in his 80's and discovered that the company began importing Italian ceramics in the late 1950's through the 1970's. Arthur, himself, made buyer's trip to various Italian towns and cities, particularly in the south. Contract documents show that Arditi insisted that the only the name "Paul's" appeared on the ceramics. It was a way of ensuring that competitors would not discover the firm's sources of supply. Paul's stopped importing Italian pottery in the late 1970's.
Walter Del Pellegrino
Here is a link to an article on the subject that I wrote for my Italian Pottery Forum.
You may enjoy it.
Walter Del Pellegrino
http://italianpotterymarks.freeforums.org/donkey-carts-t303.html
Thank you so much Walter, I am most grateful for your help. I have visited your forum many times. So this would be a fifties item, then?
That is correct Vetraio. The piece dates from the 1950's or 60's. Note the hole in the belly of your beautiful little example. This tells us that it was made in a mold and thus a production piece that has been been decorated by the hand. The hole is there to allow gases to escape from the hollow body. The pieces that are really chased after are the individually crafted donkeys that are completely made by hand and are signed. These are heavy and solid thus not requiring a escape hole.
Walter Del Pellegrino
Hi Walter! I have to say that I had never thought of its being slip cast. I really thought it was solid. But I have just investigated further and the hole does go some distance into the body. The moulding is actually very good. Would it have been done in two halves?
I'm in Australia. I find it amazing how these objects can travel. I wonder if the Arditti family exported further than the US and into Australia as well?
Am I correct in thinking this ciuccio is from Vietri?
Two weeks ago I saw a slip cast cart here in Sydney that was marked Assisi.
The connection between San Francesco and the donkey of his mortal body?
I'd appreciate it if you were to look at my Romolo Apicella Vietri charger.
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/20575-my-romolo-apicella-vietri-charger-signed
http://annunci.ebay.it/annunci/altro-arredamento-e-casalinghi/salerno-annunci-cava-de-tirreni/ceramica-vietresi/42006937
Ciuccio or Ciucciariello is Ok.
Ciao .
Thanks Hornet! Ti ringrazio tanto, saluti cordiali da Sydney!
Many thanks birdie and belatedly to kelkat too!
Many thanks Lilliflunew!
I still have mine and still haven't gotten a answer :) love yours very very much Kevin:)
Thanks SEAN. ARe you posting him?
I did , im going to retry again .
MANY THANKS MSL!
Many thanks bratjdd!
Many thanks Geno!
Many thanks MANIKIN!
Many thanks AGHCOLLECT !!!!!
Many thanks HO2CULTCHA !!!!!!!!
Many thanks BRATJDD !!!!!!!
Many thanks DESTINYJENNIFER !!! !!!! !!!
Many thanks AANA B !!! !!! !!! !!!
Many thanks AURA !!! !!!! !!!
Many thanks WINDWALKER !!! !!!! !!!
Many thanks HO2CULTCHA !!!! ! !!!!
Great piece and information.
Many thanks DLPETERSEN & THOMAS !!,!!,!!
G’DAY AMERICA !!!!
Many thanks ARTFOOT, NEWFLD & PHIL !!!!
Many thanks RADEGRUNDER ! !! !!! !! !
Many thanks VCAL !!!
Many thanks NEWFLD !!!!!