GIBRALTAR STAMPS OFFER: SPEND £50 GET £5 OFF
Shipping: Spend over GBP £52.17 to receive free shipping

Unesco Heritage

Set
GBP £2.24
First Day Cover
GBP £3.25
Special Folder
GBP £3.50
About Unesco Heritage

Estremoz clay gures

Estremoz clay gures have been in production since at least the 17th century. They are popularly known as Bonecos de Estremoz(Estremoz Dolls) and are a highly marketable type of handicraft, uniquely modelled, based on the production of clay gures with both sacred and pagan roots, and a history spanning centuries.
The main distinguishing features of this handicraft are the modelling process, the diversity and unique character of the models produced and their respective aesthetic character, expressed in particular through their lively multicolours.

The gures are created with plaques, rolls and balls of clay, which are used to model and dress the gurines. The face is formed using a clay/plaster mould. This production method is unique, making these gurines perfectly distinct from others produced in Portugal, as well as internationally.
Estremoz clay gures are historically associated with the geographic borders of the municipality of Estremoz, in the district of Évora in the Alentejo region, particularly the area forming the current merged Civil Parishes of Estremoz.

This art-form was inscribed on 7 December 2017 on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, during the 12th Meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scienti c and Cultural Organisation’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which took place on Jeju Island, South Korea.

Municipal Council of Estremoz

Bisalhães Pottery

Seeing the di culties experienced by the decreasing number of potters dedicated to this art-form, the Municipal Council of Vila Real has strived for decades to prevent the disappearance of the black pottery of Bisalhães (a village belonging to the civil parish of Mondrões).
It was this concern that led to the process of inscribing the production method of Bisalhães black pottery in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopting a safeguarding plan de ned in close collaboration with the potters themselves. The next step was the inclusion of this process, on the recommendation of the Portuguese state, on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, which was achieved on 28 November 2016.

This was our Council’s contribution for Bisalhães, for the city of Vila Real, for the region and for the country – demonstrating that we are attentive to local traditions and culture and to the importance of their preservation for future generations. We believe this richness of ours, unique and inimitable, forms part of our DNA and what it means to be from Vila Real.

Rui Santos President of the Municipal Council of Vila Real

Manufacture of cowbells

Linked to pastoralism, Portuguese cowbells and their manufacture are thought to have appeared in the Alentejo town of Alcáçovas in the 18th century, quickly becoming one of the greatest national and international points of reference in the production of this utilitarian object. The most recent research points to a link between the emergence of this art-form in Alcáçovas and the appearance of Merino sheep breeds in Montemor-o-Novo.

The manufacture of Portuguese cowbells was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urgent Need of Safeguarding on 1 December 2015, as the result of an application by Turismo do Alentejo (ERT), the Municipal Council of Viana do Alentejo and the Parish Council of Alcáçovas.
Strengthened in the forges of master cowbell makers, they are held close to the hearts of the people of Alcáçovas. They are part of the soul of the Alentejo region, the traditions, memories and recollections conveyed by the habits and customs of belonging to a common identity. From labour stigmatised by hardworking hands ows the generosity of a people who, in getting together, nd sustenance for the soul and encouragement for the spirit. The Portuguese cowbell gives sound and form to the experiences of the people of Alcáçovas, carved and tted into the curvature of the Alentejo plain, where the creations of the ‘master working under the heavens’ are the poetry and prose of the local culture.

Luís Banha