The Story:
Freedom has many faces. Every culture has named it, sung it, fought for it, wept for it. OVO pressed it into clay.
In the hands of Maurizio Orrico and Enrica Vulcano, the testa di moro — that ancient Sicilian icon of love and endurance — wears a crown the whole world recognizes. Not as a statement. As a feeling. The kind that rises in the chest when something you already believed in suddenly has a form you can hold.
FREE WOMAN belongs to no single story. She belongs to everyone who has ever crossed an ocean — literally or in the quiet interior of their own life — and arrived somewhere new.
The Origin:
THE FREE WOMAN is a MorOVO — OVO's contemporary reinterpretation of the testa di moro, handcrafted in limited quantities in the studio of Maurizio Orrico and Enrica Vulcano in Roges di Rende, Cosenza, Calabria. No two identical. Every surface a conversation between the artist's hand and the clay.
The Legend:
In the tradition of Italian romantic tragedy — in the spirit of Romeo and Juliet — a love story unfolded so consuming it refused to simply end.
During the time of Arab rule in Sicily, a beautiful young woman tended her balcony with devotion — her plants, her flowers, her small world of beauty above the street. A Moorish merchant passed below, fell captivated, and told her of his feelings. What followed was a passionate love, immediate, absolute. For a time, it was everything.
Then came the betrayal. She discovered he was leaving — returning to the East, to a wife and children she had never known existed. The romance that had felt eternal had been, for him, a chapter. For her, it was the whole story.
Consumed by heartbreak and fury, she decided to never let him go and, as the legend goes, transformed him into something eternal, turning his head into a vase and planting a sprig of basil inside. She watered it with her tears and the basil grew luxuriantly, lush and fragrant beyond all reason. The neighbors noticed and began creating their own in ceramic — and so the legend spread. Regal, crowned, placed on balconies across Sicily, the testa di moro became a symbol of love, abundance, and good fortune. Centuries later, it remains one of Italy's most beloved icons. A story of loss, yes — but more than that, a symbol of love so fierce it grew into something beautiful. And never stopped growing.
The Craft:
Every ray of FREE WOMAN's Liberty crown was formed individually by hand — each blade shaped, fired, built to last centuries. OVO's signature surface technique, born from experiments with metal oxidation, layers powdered graphite with opaque matte enamel to create a finish that absorbs light rather than reflecting it. In the dark oxidized colorway, copper burns through the graphite like something ancient breaking through. In vivid orange, she blazes. Any variation in the surface is not imperfection — it is the hand. The only signature that matters. Each MorOVO arrives with a certificate of authenticity.
The Arrival:
This is not a purchase. It is an arrival. A limited edition sculpture handcrafted in southern Italy, carried across an ocean, to live in your home.
Artist Studio: OVO · Maurizio Orrico & Enrica Vulcano · Roges di Rende, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy
Medium: Handcrafted ceramic with powdered graphite and opaque matte enamel
Finish: Available in multiple colorways · Shown in Vivid Orange Matte and Dark Oxidized Graphite with Copper
Dimensions: 45cm H · 20cm D · 16.5cm D (approximately 17.7" H · 7.9" D)
Weight: Approximately 4–5kg
Edition: Limited · Each piece unique
Certificate: Authenticity certificate included
Each MorOVO ships directly from our partner studio in Calabria, Italy. Complimentary shipping included. Expedited delivery available on select pieces — contact us to arrange.
Every purchase illuminates lives, cultures and communities across the world. LUXUL COLLECTIVE — Light Reflects Light.