Roberto Sironi: Madre Pane

A collection of refractory ceramic stamps investigates in a symbolic and ornamental way the old Italian tradition of marking the bread before baking it in the communal ovens.

The bread stamps are one of the historical expressions of pastoral art in the Southern Italy, in particular in the area of Matera where until the first half of the twentieth century people marked the bread before baking it in the communal ovens, so they could be recognised by the owner.

Made in hand carved wood, they represented symbols linked to the pastoral world, often with apotropaic meaning, while the mark indicated the owner’s initials or the effigy of the family.

Roberto Sironi investigates this tradition with Madre Pane, a collection of bread stamps with symbolic and ornamental value through an earthen landscape of sculptural objects. The abstract representation of Egg, Mother Hen, Tree and Millstone, refers respectively to the meanings of birth, maternal protection, growth and strength.

Made by refractory ceramic, a tactile and raw material used in bakery ovens, the collection is finished in various colours. The mark, designed to bring back the owner’s initial, completes the stamp respecting the original tradition.