Welcome to the Ortigia Jungle Tray, a 40cm round delight showing stylised animals that you might find in the jungle if not from A to Z at least from Crane to Zebra. This ia a real statement piece, handmade and laquered to a smooth gloss finish, you’ll love this for yourself or give happiness as a gift. If it’s for you, just imagine serving your guests drinks on this tray. Someone is bound to admire and ask about it.
Ortigia, famed for their scents that capture the essence of Sicily are also well known for thier fabulous imagary. They have carried this forward into their homewares. With a combination of quirky narratives and striking vibrant colours, this tray is a must for those who love nature. The design draws upon Sicilian history.
SiciliAn Inspiration
The serval or gattopardo on the tray is from a mosaic in the Norman Palace in Palermo built sometime after 1130. Most people think of the image as being a leopard and aside from the similarity of look, here is another reason……
The serval has become a Sicilian icon and “Gattopardo” the name of a book by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa published in 1959, however the English translation of the book title is usually Leopard. For this reason the serval and African leopard are confused in translation terms but the Italian for leopard is leopardo . The book traces the decline of a noble family during the risorgimento – the upheaval of the unification of Italy in the 19th Centtury.
The ‘Leopard’
The book is considered a classic of European literature and was turned into a film in directed by Luchino Visconti. Made in 1963, the stars were Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon. This film is considered one of the top 10 historical films ever made and itself is a classic. It’s about Garibaldi’s campaign that led the unification and full independence of Italy started on Sicily in 1860. It was the culmination of a long struggle against mainly Austrian rule that had lastested since the 1830s. Garibaldi led 1000 ‘Redshirts’ across Sicily and onto the mainland moving north to join with the northern Italian states. After a long series of battles Italy was finally united in 1861.
