Donkey cart
Category
Carriages & other vehicles
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood, iron and paint
Measurements
1140 mm (H)1020 mm (W)2450 mm (D)900 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Sicily
Order this imageCollection
Powis Castle and Garden, Powys
NT 1185175
Summary
A painted donkey cart from Sicily, Carretto Siciliano, decorated with religious and secular scenes in cartouches against a yellow background.
Full description
Sicilian donkey cart or carretto This pretty little cart was a common sight in Sicily throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries where such vehicles were often used in both towns and cities to carry passengers and light goods. The defining characteristics are the bright and distinctive painted decoration, which covers the entire cart with a mixture of geometric patterns and figurative historical or religious scenes in a folk art style. The carts typically have two wheels and an open footboard at the front. The painted images on the side of this example depict scenes from the life of Roger II (1096 - 1154), the first King of Sicily, who was responsible for uniting all the Southern states of Italy into one kingdom. The scenes show him receiving the keys to the city of Palermo; his welcome in the Archbishop’s palace; his defeat of the Saracens and his coronation in 1130. On the inside back panel is the Trinacria the symbol of Sicily. Sicily was known by the Romans as Trinacrium, meaning “star with three points”. The symbol - which appears in the centre of the Sicilian flag – comprises the head of Medusa surrounded by three bent running legs. Just below the axle, the carved pizzu depicts St George and the Dragon – it was commonly placed in this location to ‘protect’ the most vulnerable part of the vehicle. Owing to their attractive and colourful appearance, carretti soon caught the attention of visitors to Sicily, and by the beginning of the twentieth century postcards, photographs and posters of carretti as well as tiny models of them, proved popular as souvenirs. The carts reached larger audiences at International trade fairs where they frequently appeared on Sicilian trade stands as examples of popular art. At the 1881 “Esposizione Industriale Italiana” in Milan, the cart that was sent depicted the life of Roger II which was at that time “the second most popular choice” the first being Tancredi from Tasso’s “Gerusalemme Liberata”. Another subject very often seen on carts which were later exported to America was the life of Christopher Columbus. Although only the seriously wealthy could afford to buy an actual cart and bring it home, by the 1920’s the Palermo carriage builders Daneu & Cie began exporting carts to Britain and the United States. A typed quotation dated October 1st 1928 in the Tschinke collection records the sale of a cart, donkey “nice grey colour, perfectly healthy” together with harness and forage crib to New York for the sum of 5,965 lire. Buying the donkey along with the cart seemed to be a popular practice. It was a truly luxurious gift. This donkey cart belonged to Lady Hermione Herbert (1900-1995), daughter of the 4th Earl of Powis. According to tradition the carretto was brought to the door of her house in Berkeley Square on her birthday, harnessed to a donkey. This seems altogether likely since in 1924 she married an Italian, Roberto Lucchesi-Palli, the 11th Duke of Grazia in the Church of St James’s, Spanish Place. Newspaper reports at the time announced “Lord Powis’s daughter engaged to Italian Count” and doubtless he or one of his relatives gave this to Hermione as a gift. There are several examples of similar donkey carts in museum collections. The Ringling Museum in Florida has a cart painted with scenes from the life of Hernán Cortés, the conquerer of Mexico (Object No MF93.5). This cart was first exhibited at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and then purchased by the family who donated it to the museum in 1993. The Streetlife Museum in Hull has another decorated with images of Messina Cathedral (AC No KINCM:1983.1146). At Erddig nearby, there is a tiny model of a Sicilian donkey cart of unknown provenance (NT 1150782). There are other examples at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont and another in the Museum of the Horse at the Chateau of Chantilly. For further discussion on the history of these carts see M. Croce and M, Harris, History on the Road: The Painted Carts of Sicily, Minnesota, 2006 Elizabeth Jamieson, NT Carriages Advisor 15/08/18
Provenance
On loan to Powis Castle from the Lucchesi Palli Trust. Purchased by the National Trust in 2019.