The Cave Canen exhibition closed this afternoon in Barga Vecchia exactly as it started a week ago – with the sound of rain falling outside in the piazza, dripping umbrellas and wet footprints across all the floors in the three galleries holding the exhibition. The only difference today was that the wet prints were not just human but also those of the many dogs which turned up for the closing ceremony. Karin Schirmer from the Intissar’s kennels who had brought along some of her special breeds of dog to show to the public – her award winning Sloughi and Chinese Crested dogs plus many other canines brought in specially for the event by members of the the animal rights Association “L’ Arca della Valle”.
Per informazioni on the “L’ Arca della Valle”: 347 8947831 -347 2590283 arcadellavalle
Maria Carla Borghini representing the L’Associazione Culturale Fiabe d’Estate (their site is here ) was also present in the gallery but was a bit too emotional to read her poem “Tex” featuring in her book “40 Fiabe + una per giocare”. Luckily Graziella Cosimini stepped into the breach and read the poem aloud for all those present.
Click on the link below to hear the poem (in Italiano) and the warm applause at the end.
The 75 works of art on show in Barga will be taken down from the walls of the galleries this week, packed up and then sent off to the next location for the travelling Cave Canen Show which will probably be in La Spezia. From there the next step will probably be Milano. All of the images at this exhibition can be seen here
The Sloughi is a very old oriental sighthound-breed, which can be traced back to the times of the pharaohs. Hunting scenes in old Egyptian wall-reliefs show a smooth coated sighthound with hanging ears and in the Egyptian museum of Cairo there is a mummy of a Sloughi exhibited. In the VII and VIII centuries AD, with the migration of Arabian conquerors, the sloughi was brought to the Maghreb, where a very similar sighthound-type was already present. Roman mosaics show these sighthounds in the colours sand, red, black and bridle. Experts find it very probable, that the present day North African Sloughi is a descendant from these sighthounds mixed with the oriental breed.
Chinese Crested dogs – The name indicates that the Chinese crested originated in China, but no actual proof exists supporting this theory. Some authors believe the Chinese crested’s ancestors came from Africa and then moved east to Asia. Many have tried to relate all naked dog breeds in Asia, Africa and other countries, and find a common ancestor for them, but their is not much evidence to support this theory. Some even think the Chinese crested may result from a cross between a Mexican Hairless dog with the Chihuahua.