Our Sicilian Teste di Moro charm freshwater pearl necklace is our love letter to Palermo, featuring a variety of Sicilian symbols that make the island so special and unique. This hand crafted pearl necklace is adorned with genuine Sicilian porcelain charms that have been hand crafted and hand painted in Sicily: Sicilian pine cone charms and male and female Teste di Moro heads on either side of a delicious porcelain Sicilian lemon charm in the centre. These charms are separated by 5-6mm genuine freshwater rice pearls on strong yet supple jewellery wire cord necklace. This necklace secures with a plated brass lobster clasp.
The Sicilian pine cone is a symbol of fertility, life, immortality, and divinity. The seeds of the pine cone represent the symbol of fertility and regenerative force. In ancient Sicilian tradition the Sicilian pine cone was used to adorn the bedroom of newlyweds to wish the formation of a large family.
The legend of the ‘Testa di Moro’ or Moor Head is a well-known Sicilian symbol that is instantly recognisable and if you have ever visited Sicily you will recall seeing these stunning ceramic heads everywhere. The legend of these moor heads dates back to the 11th Century during the Moors domination in Sicily, there was a young girl who lived in the Kalsa neighbourhood in Palermo. Every day she would spend time on her balcony tending to her plants and flowers. One day a young Moor passing by saw her and was captured by her beauty and declared his love to her, which was immediately returned. After some time, the girl discovered that her lover would have to leave her to return to his country where his wife and children were waiting for him. She plotted her revenge: Whilst he slept she beheaded him and used it as a vase for her lovely flowered balcony, so that her lover would stay with her forever. It’s a sinister story but the outcome was these stunning decorative moor heads that you find all around Sicily which make for beautiful decorations so we had to decorate this piece with them too.
The lemons in Sicily are quite different from regular lemons that we find elsewhere. They have unusual qualities that make them very desirable and much tastier and are considered the best in the world. They are also a renowned symbol of Sicily.
Please Note: The porcelain charms adorned on this pearl necklace are hand crafted and hand painted. Therefore there may be darker and lighter areas of paint strokes on the charms, and/or flecks of paint in areas. The porcelain charms are fragile and need to be handled with extra care and attention. If they are knocked or dropped they will crack.
Please Note: The freshwater pearls on this necklace are genuine natural freshwater rice pearls and are irregular in shape. The pearls you receive on your necklace may differ slightly in shape, size and lustre to the freshwater pearls shown in the images here but will retain the same overall look. They may also have more ridges in them. The length of the necklace may also differ slightly due to the length of each of the pearls featured on each necklace.
