From the stone Giants of Mont’e Prama to prehistoric bronze figurines to the large feet and faces on traditional furniture, Sardinia has always included zoomorphic and anthropomorphic references in its iconography. Often stylized and abstracted into geometric patterns, it seems likely that this is an ancient custom, perhaps due to years of colonization by their North African neighbors. In any case, even the native Sardinian population, the Nuragic peoples, used human and animal forms to confer luck, to express thanks and to decorate their everyday objects.
Ambroise Maggiar took his inspiration from the clawed feet of the important wooden trunks that graced every affluent Sardinian family’s home. With Mannu, these feet become the center of the study, rather than a detail.
Material: hand-carved ash wood top, Sardinian “Marmo di Orosei” marble base
Dimensions: H45 x W29 x D46,5 cm
Additional information: The upper half is cut from solid ash wood, with a meticulously hand-carved top made by Karmine Piras. The bottom is machine cut by CP Basalti from a creamy local marble called “Marmo di Orosei”, which has varied sediments causing both swirls and droplets, and often containing trapped seashells.