A testa di moro is a glazed ceramic head, hollow inside, hand modelled and hand painted in Sicily. The problem with buying one online is not the price. It is that you are ordering a heavy object with fragile projections, which you have only seen in a photograph, and which has to travel from a workshop in Sicily to New York or Melbourne inside a cardboard box.
It can be done, and plenty of people do it. But three things are worth knowing first: which photograph you are looking at, how the piece is packed, and what happens if it arrives broken. They are below in that order, which is the order in which they matter.
First: is the photograph of the piece or of the model?
It is the most important question and almost nobody asks it.
On a factory product the distinction does not exist: the piece photographed and the piece you receive are identical. On a handmade piece it does. Every head has its own brush stroke, its own shading, its own small departure from the one before. So the image on the listing can be one of two things:
- A photograph of the exact piece that will be shipped to you. Maximum precision, but it means that listing exists in a single example.
- A photograph of the line, that is, of a representative example. You will receive a piece from that family, very close to it, not identical down to the millimetre.
Neither is dishonest. Not saying which is. When you buy, always ask which of the two you are looking at, and if the answer is vague, treat the missing information as information.
Second: what to ask before paying
There are five, and on an object like this they are worth more than any description.
- Real height and diameter. A head reads completely differently at 20 cm, roughly 8 inches, and at 40 cm, roughly 16 inches, and photographs lose the scale. If you are unsure about size, start from how to choose the size.
- The weight. It is the figure that best replaces touch, and it tells you how much thickness is there. It also tells you whether the surface you have in mind will take it.
- The finish. Gloss, matt, antiqued, with gold or lustre. It changes how the piece answers the light in your room, and it changes the cleaning.
- The hole in the base. If you are thinking of putting a live plant in it, drainage is not a detail.
- Whether the companion exists. Heads traditionally come in pairs. If you might add the second one later, it is worth knowing now whether the line stays in production.
Third: how it travels
A testa di moro is any courier's nightmare: it is heavy, its centre of gravity is high, and the parts that stick out most, the crown, the nose, the earrings, are also the thinnest. Packing done properly treats it as an object that will be turned upside down, because sooner or later it is.
What to look for, in general, when you order ceramics online:
- Double boxing, with the inner box not touching the walls of the outer one
- Filling that locks the piece in place, rather than merely surrounding it
- Dedicated protection on the projections, not just a generic wrap of bubble film
- Insured shipping, which is the only thing that genuinely protects you
Our shipments are insured, in Italy and abroad.
Fourth: timings, costs, payment
We ship worldwide, always insured, and the shipping cost is shown at checkout before you confirm. The payment methods available for your country appear at the same step.
On timings there is one rule: the piece is started when the order comes in, so think in weeks. If you have a date to meet, say so when you buy rather than finding out afterwards.
Fifth: if it arrives broken
Sooner or later it happens, with any seller. What changes is what you can do in the first ten minutes, and it is worth knowing before the courier rings.
- Look at the box before you sign. If it is dented, wet or crushed, sign with a written reservation on the delivery note. A clean signature on a damaged parcel complicates every refund.
- Photograph before opening. The closed parcel, from several sides, with the label visible.
- Photograph while opening. The piece still inside the packing, as you found it.
- Throw nothing away. Box, filling, protections. They are needed for the insurance claim.
- Write immediately. Transport insurance runs on narrow time windows.
One thing to allow for before ordering
It is not a shipping fault, but it is the most frequent surprise: the piece that arrives is not identical to the photograph. Slightly different shading, a stroke that falls a millimetre further along, a spot where the glaze pulled back over a relief.
That happens because every head passes by hand through forming, refining, glazing and decoration, and because the kiln does not treat two pieces the same way. As we have always said, the small imperfections are what tell you the work is original. If what you want is a perfectly uniform object, a handmade piece is not the right choice, and it is better to know that before ordering than after opening the box.
How we work
The heads sold here are made in our workshop in Caltagirone, in Sicily. We do not resell other people's pieces, and that is why questions about weight, height or finish are answered by somebody who has that piece in their hands. Anyone passing through the town can see the work in our showroom.
If before ordering you want to learn to tell an authentic piece from a reproduction, the method is in how to recognise an authentic testa di moro.
Liquid error (snippets/blog-collection-featured line 21): comparison of String with 0 failedCommon questions
Is the photograph I see the piece I will receive?
In general, on an object made and decorated by hand, the piece you receive is very close to the photograph without matching it in every detail. Ask the seller which of the two the image is.
How much is shipping?
It depends on the destination and it is shown at checkout, before you confirm the order.
Do you ship abroad?
Yes, worldwide, with insured shipping.
How long does it take?
Weeks rather than days, because the piece is started once the order arrives. If you have a deadline, tell us when you order.
What do I do if the courier delivers a visibly damaged parcel?
Sign with a reservation on the delivery note, photograph the box before opening it, and keep all the packing. Then write to us straight away.
When you are ready
If the answers above are enough, the full catalogue is in teste di moro. If you would rather start from more travelled ground, look at the best sellers.
