To begin a new year on Retromode, I have chosen this colourful bottle from my collection of mid-century ceramics. It features a lively decoration of a cockerel and was produced in the 1950/60s by the DeSimone Pottery, Palermo, Sicily.
It’s been some time since my last post in April 2015 and since then much has happened.
I don’t think many of us foresaw the political upheaval of the past year, here in the UK with the EU referendum result and in the USA with the election of Donald Trump.
Perhaps it’s not possible to understand these events unless you live in the UK or the USA but even so the media and politicians of both countries seem to have been taken by surprise. Possibly they are out of touch with large sections of the population and this disconnect between privileged elites and under represented working people may have led to the unexpected outcomes of the UK referendum and the US election.
This lovely ceramic bottle will brighten up a cold and wintery day and might serve as a small distraction from the uncertain times in which we find ourselves. The subject is very apt, this being the Chinese Year of the Rooster.
President Trump will be strutting the world stage, crowing loudly over his success for some time to come. We can only hope that there is more to him than bright plumage and a loud voice.
Retromode 