Sumano Birada Scorpion

A beautiful hand built pitcher or double stem vase. The Sumano Birada Scorpion is made using ancient traditional Moroccan techniques.
Made with the clay collected in the Moroccan Rif mountains.
Each decorative motif is painted with a goat hair brush, made by the potter to apply natural pigments

Approximate measurements: 18x18x20cm

Edition of 11

This Design was made by Aïcha.

In the southern foothills of the Rif Massif, west of Taounate, lies the home of the Ouled Sless whose women are famous for their pottery. After drying, the pieces are covered with a whitish slip and decorated with a pattern of red and brown ocher. The main motifs are simple: alternating lines and dots, parallel and unequal lines. In the 1990s, more than thirty women were creating ceramics in this village alone. Today, only six of them are left, all very old, and Aïcha is the only potter still working.

Aïcha learned the craft from her mother. Thanks to her job, Aïcha was able to provide for her family. Her husband died very young, and Aïcha was left to raise four children on her own. Two of them are daughters who are now married, have left home and moved to the city. They did not want to learn pottery.

Her sons used to trade ceramics in the area for olive oil, wheat or dried figs.

Variation is to be expected, each piece differs in colour, size, shape and decorations due to its handmade nature. Sumano is about simplicity, imperfections, and embracing the “flaws”.

Each piece is fired in an open fire, which makes unexpected and surprising results, including smoke marks on some pieces. This means that each piece is one of a kind and cannot be duplicated.