Silvana Geminiani - Panel - Refined polychrome high-relief ceramic plaque. - Saint George and the Dragon

Silvana Geminiani, 'Saint George and the Dragon' – faience ceramic plaque in polychrome high relief, 1984

Refined polychrome high-relief ceramic plaque, signed S. Geminiani, attributable to the production of Silvana Geminiani, a Faenza ceramist active in the second half of the twentieth century and an interpreter of a cultured, narrative ceramic strongly tied to the Romagna artistic tradition. The subject clearly recalls the iconography of Saint George and the dragon, a theme long favored in Christian and knightly tradition, symbolizing the victory of good over evil, here reinterpreted with a vivid, decorative, and almost fairy-tale language.
The composition is set with a notable sense of drama: the horse, modeled in brown with blue harnesses, occupies the right side of the plaque, while the knight, dressed in warm tones of ochre yellow and white, advances with the spear toward the green dragon, rendered with a bulky body, curling tail, and clawed feet. The strongly raised modeling gives the scene movement and depth, transforming the ceramic surface into a small plastic narrative. Particularly successful is the contrast between the brightness of the glazes and the pale background, animated by subtle irregularities in material texture that enhance its artisanal character.
The work testifies to the quality of Faenza ceramics in the eighties, capable of combining technical skill, popular taste, and ancient iconographic references. The ceramist’s hand is evident in the freedom of shaping, in the pleasing asymmetry of the form, in the vibrant color, and in the ability to render a traditional subject with an immediate, elegant, and personal tone.
On the back there is the handwritten inscription “Dono della Cassa Rurale Artigiana di Forlì, Natale 1984,” an element that documents, with precision, the dating and the Romagna context of the piece.
A decorative ceramic work of great personality, interesting both for collectors of Faenza ceramic art and for those seeking a signed object with a strong, rare, and pleasantly narrative iconography.