La Cassa Barbaricina

The so-called 'barbarian case', which can be opened from above with a flap, is carved exclusively on the façade ('sample'): the lid and side panels are neglected. The rich decoration constantly offers a central panel surrounded by a frame. This consists of crossbars and side posts, supported by a high band below, composed in turn of several crossbars.
The so-called 'barbarian case', which can be opened from above with a flap, is carved exclusively on the façade ('sample'): the lid and side panels are neglected. The rich decoration constantly offers a central panel surrounded by a frame. This consists of crossbars and side posts, supported by a high band below, composed in turn of several crossbars. It is curious to note that these bands, which prevent the corners of the frame from joining at ninety degrees (instead present in recent examples), denounce their being originally pieces of tables sawn to size with the installation, in the length requested by the customer.

Even the case cover had a thin front edge stained with geometric patterns. If the framing bands invariably had the continuous motif of the 'Phoenician rosette', almost always divided in half, or a sort of 'half waves' derived from the marble sarcophagi of the Roman era, the part varied in the subject was undoubtedly the one reserved for the central panel. Here, a limited series of symbols, combined or taken individually, made you a nice “show”: the tree of life with the two peacocks on its sides (with the tapped body and the long spiral tail or geometric as in the [span lang="fr "] filet [/span]); the “Phoenician rosette”, central and whole (often included in a square), or the hourglass motif hooked at the base; the half rosette with a triangular tail to form a sort of comet. This type of case, produced in the centers of the Barbagia di Belvì (Desulo, Tonara, Aritzo), in whose territories the raw material used, the chestnut tree, or the Barbagia di Ollolai (Fonni), or in the nearby area of Mandrolisai (Isili), has had a great diffusion throughout the region also by virtue of a “door to door” sale, managed by the carving artisans themselves, who, with their cargo, satisfied the needs of each one on site.

Update

6/9/2023 - 02:05