SARDINIA | Craftsmanaship

The Sardinian artistic handicrafts have developed influenced by the social life, the local traditions of the Island. The most important inventions can be seen in the weaving products, in the jewelry’s in the basketworks, in the wood cravings and in the pottery.

The typical handicrafts products, thanks to the ability of the Sardinian craftsmen, interprets it’s ancient traditions in a very modern way carrying on the old traditions in an extremely elegant style. All the handicrafts work are also made to be easily used by the farmers and by the shepherds and are characterized by the typical decoration made using the technique “per incisione” or “cavata” and paying attention to the shape rather than to the ornament. The last thing we should talk about are the typical materials that are generally used to make the handicrafts products such as the coral, the wool, the aromatic herbs, the wood, the clay and the filigree all these characters that we can find in many manufactured article of the Sardinian craftwork, are very important because they confer a good personality and a good cultural identity. All the products of the Sardinian craftwork are represented from many manufactured article. The sectors where we can find a good creative capacity are the ceramic, weaving and jeweller's workshop.

The weaving

Through all the artistic products we’ve got to mention the typical carpets, the tapestries, the cloths, the beautiful blankets and the precious table clothes made using the horizontal wooden loom and following the old pibiones technique. In some of villages like Nure, Sarule and Tonara, all these products are made using a wooden vertical loom, which allows you to make hard carpets following the smooth weaving technique (a tessitura liscia). All the typical weaving products are decorated with geometric motives as the rhombus, the hour-glass or vegetables motives like the grape or the pomegranate. Some of them are decorated with flower motives or with faunistic motives like the horse , the peacock, the bird, the lion or with towers and castles.

The jewelries

The most important jewelry making centers of Sardinia are Cagliari, Alghero, Bosa, Dorgali, Oliena, Iglesias, Oristano, Nuoro, Sassari and Villacidro that still use the ancient filigree working technique followed to make the precious jewels that decorate the traditional local costumes. The most important products are the buttons, the necklaces, the traditional pendant earrings and the beautiful wedding rings.

The Ceramics

The Sardinian ceramists still use ancient technique to make everyday language products, decorated with inspiration and fantasy such as the brocca oristanese (the oristanese jug) decorated with angels and saints or the anfore sovrapposte (superimosed amphores) of Siniscola or the galletto (chick) of Dorgali and the doccioni of Assemini.

The Baskets

The intense basket production is still connected to the traditional country life tradition even for the materials that are used: straw, asfodelo, raffia and palm. The baskets are decorated with traditional country life motives as the flowers or the animals like the peacocks, the hens and the dears. The baskets can be extremely big or little just like the useful bread keepers, the fish traps or the floor mats. The most important basket making centers of the Island are Castelsardo, Sennori, San Vero Milis, Sennori, Flussio, Cabras, Ollolai and Montresta.

Wrought iron

The craftsmen that work the iron use ancient techniques to create beautiful furnishing products. Today the wrought iron is used by the most famous interior designers to decorate the houses using artistic iron garden gates, head beds, bathroom furniture and curtain holders..

Wood craving

The experts of wood craving are usually called mastre linnas because of their incredible experience. Using the wood they make lovely and precious cradles, settles, chairs and chopping boards. The settles and the chairs are definitely the most decorated, some of them are preciously craved and decorated with the green and red of the pomegranate others have the back varnished with red and blue or green and gold. The villages of Mammoiada and Ottana have beautiful Carnival masked made with craved wood, the maschere carnevalesche.

The Knives

Sardinia is famous for the intense production of precious knives that are desired by the major collectors of the world. The most important knife producing centers are Guspini with it’s sa guspinesa, Arbus with the s’arburesa a kind of clasp-knife , Gonnosfanadiga with it’s sa lussulzesa and the village of Pattada that produces the famous pattadese a special leaf blade.