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

Silvana Geminiani, 'San Giorgio e il drago' – Faenza ceramic plaque in polychrome relief, 1984

Refined polychrome relief ceramic plaque, signed S. Geminiani, attributable to the production of Silvana Geminiani, Faenza ceramist active in the second half of the twentieth century and an interpreter of a cultivated, narrative ceramic strongly tied to the Romagna artistic tradition. The subject clearly recalls the iconography of Saint George and the dragon, a tema of ancient fortune in Christian and knightly tradition, symbolizing the victory of good over evil, here reinterpreted with a lively, decorative, and almost fairy-tale language.

The composition is set with a notable sense of staging: the horse, modeled in brown with blue harnesses, occupies the right side of the plaque, while the knight, clad in warm tones of ochre yellow and white, advances with the lance toward the dragon, rendered with a bulky body, curling tail, and clawed legs. The relief modeling gives movement and depth to the scene, transforming the ceramic surface into a small plastic narrative. Particularly successful is the contrast between the brightness of the enamels and the light background, stirred by delicate material irregularities 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 the modeling, in the pleasant asymmetry of the form, in the vibrant color palette, 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 Romagnol context of the work.

A decorative ceramic work of great personality, interesting both for collectors of Faenza ceramic art and for those seeking an authored object with a strong, rare, and pleasantly narrative subject.