The tradition of these very particular head-shaped vases was born from an ancient legend steeped in love and jealousy. According to the legend, in the 11th century AD, during the Arab domination in Sicily, a beautiful Sicilian girl and a young Moor fell madly in love. However, the happiness of the two lovers soon faded when the young man revealed to the woman that he had to come back to the East, where his wife and two children were waiting for him. Th girl, struck by blinding jealousy, decided that her lover would never had left her, and, at nightfall, she killed him while he was sleeping, by cutting off his head. She then decided to use the Moor’s head as a vase for her basil plant, which, due to the tears she shed every day, grew particularly beautiful and luxuriant. According to legend, passers-by who walked under her balcony, began to get jealous of how flowering her plants were, so they too began to forge colorful pots with clay heads.
These beautiful vases that adorn the sunny balconies of the Amalfi Coast, whose Arab influence is easily found in the beautiful Amalfi Cathedral and in the Saracen towers that line the coast, are an original decor piece rich in history. Whether in their classic version or in the more minimal and contemporary one, our moor’s heads will add an original touch to your home.
