Clay Culture: Ceramic Swallows of Portugal Lisa McDonald

Appears in the February 2022 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

Different cultures ascribe meaning to various animals based on observed traits and behaviors. In Portugal, the swallow has special significance and is a favorite decorative motif. 

Among the various activities that saw a boom in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, birdwatching appears to be more than just a lockdown fad.

Birdwatching, or birding, is observing birds in their natural environment as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. The pastime is a relatively new development, made possible by the advancement of optical aids in the 20th century, particularly binoculars, that enabled observation of wild birds without harming them.

For beginner birdwatchers, swallows offer a great introduction to the hobby. Swallows are a type of songbird that are easily identified by their distinctive forked tails with long, tapered feathers. There are 75 species of swallows found all around the world, with the barn swallow being the most widespread. Learn more about swallows in a video from the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society: https://youtu.be/sdRxh7UhMkM.

A flock of ceramic swallows, or andorinhas, on a wall in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: miyoneza (https://flickr.com/photos/miyoneza/5234844363), Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Symbolism

Swallows have appeared in cultures throughout history as symbols of hope and good luck—a well-known example is swallow tattoos among sailors. Present-day Portugal offers another look at a culture that embraces swallow symbolism.

“The swallow is connected to a lot of things that are dear to us [in Portugal],” explains Ricardo Brochado, an archaeologist and cofounder of bespoke Porto tour operator The City Tailors, in a National Geographic article.¹

Swallows will mate for life, raise their chicks together, and return to the same nest year after year. That profound connection or longing for a nest—a home or homeland—is so important in Portuguese culture that there is a word for it: saudade.

Origins of Ceramic Swallows

In 1891, famous Portuguese handcrafter Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro designed and sold a set of ceramic swallows. The design gained popularity, leading Bordallo Pinheiro to patent the ceramic swallows in 1896.

Today, it is common to see flocks of ceramic swallows, or andorinhas, based on the original Bordallo Pinheiro design decorating the walls of Portuguese restaurants and private homes. However, sometimes more stylized swallows featuring various materials and colors appear as well. You can learn about these different styles of swallows on the Portuguese products website Luisa Paixão.

the author Lisa McDonald is associate managing editor and science writer at The American Ceramic Society. Prior to this position, McDonald worked at the American Institute of Physics: FYI and the ATLAS Experiment at CERN. She has a master’s in science communication and specializes in communicating science to nonspecialist audiences.

1 Heather Greenwood Davis, “Here’s Why You See Swallows Everywhere in Portugal,” National Geographic, published October 28, 2021, accessed December 17, 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/heres-why-you-see-swallows-everywhere-in-portugal.