Ossigeno

91 90 The images featured in this article, exclusive for Ossigeno, are the result of the collaboration between Mustafa Sabbagh and the students of the Ceramics Higher Training Course of ITS Tonito Emiliani in Faenza. Fermento _ Morandi is the encounter between the still-life portraiture art of Sabbagh, the sculptural inspiration of the students in the creation of the fermenters immortalized in the images, and the tribute to a period - that of the twentieth century setting - which made international the contemporary Italian painting and design. i n F e r m e n t o i n F e r m e n t But let’s get back to the Far East. That’s where, during the initial period of Imperial China - between 221 BC and 209 BC - that this thousands-of-years-old elixir made its debut. It is now popular again in a completely different part of the globe, in New York among enthusiastic connoisseurs of infusions. It’s called kombucha, and is commonly known as a particular type of tea. Truth be told - despite actually being composed of mainly tea and sugar - it is a beverage which, thanks to its fermentation process, acquires completely different organoleptic properties, on top of containing beneficial properties which assist the body’s health, starting from the bowels. There is nothing to remind you of the classic taste of the well-known beverage. Kombucha is sparkling and acidic, despite the sugar needed for its preparation. Rather than tea, kombucha tastes more like champagne. And just like champagne, kombucha is precious, but with a value that isn’t measured based on market forces: instead, it's the well-being of the immune system. Apparently, it’s no coincidence that the story of this elixir can be traced back to the period when China was unified under �in Shi Huangdi. In fact, the first Chinese Emperor always had a certain concern - bordering on obsession - for boundaries, whether of his kingdom or his body. Together with the defence of his empire from external enemies - upheld by starting the construction of the Great Wall of China - he endlessly searched for an elixir which would save him from the approach of old age and the inevitable end of his life. He summoned, hired and trusted the best doctors of the time. Nonetheless, something went wrong. We know that he died ingesting three mercury pills. The emperor probably wanted to try something else on top of that sparkling drink which had not yet developed into the way we know it today. Yet kombucha had a second chance to demonstrate the extraordinary effectiveness of its benefits: this happened in 415 AD, during the reign of emperor Inyko, who was saved by kombucha thanks to the intuition of his personal physician, Kombu. After saving his life, the Emperor bestowed on the doctor the honour of having his name associated with the drink. In fact, kombucha means Kombu’s tea [“cha” in Chinese]. Until that moment, it had always been known as the “elixir of immortal health”, and the results - and millennia through which it has been passed along with this title - have proved it really was so. Mustafa Sabbagh, Fermento _ Morandi [2018]: Patrizia Malizia, OnggiLee – materiale: grès, tecnica: monocottura ad alta temperatura / high-temperature single firing technique