Bordallo Art

In 1896, Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro registers the patent of its ceramic swallows probably realizing that it could become a true Portuguese symbol. He wasn’t wrong, the artist’s flights of swallows started inhabiting houses, in Portugal and in several countries where Portuguese people lived (easy to identify by the swallows).

The sardine, with its silvery blue and black hues, darker on the back and lighter on the sides and belly, is found in the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, where it dwells on coastal areas, between 25 and 100 meters deep. It undertakes migrations in large shoals that protect fish from predators during the day, in deeper waters, and move at night-time to shallower waters to feed on algae and small crustaceans. It reproduces from October to April, a time when sardines are leaner and not so tasty. The sardine is the most popular fish in summer festivals and fairs in Portugal, as well as the main species used in the Portuguese canning industry.