The Sulphorator

The object in question was skilfully assembled using discarded materials such as wire, wood, tin, rope and hides. The result was a sulphorator, a tool used to spray vines with sulphur to prevent parasites that might damage the crop.

Vineyards are to be widely found in Europe (and beyond), and are indeed the oldest cultivated crop, having been a part of our history for millennia. Their adaptability to different climates has fostered the development of countless varieties, requiring constant nurture on the part of growers to ensure a high-quality harvest in conditions that vary from one locality to another. As a result, a wide variety of implements, from the most rudimentary to the most sophisticated, have been developed throughout the centuries. The sulphorator, which now runs off electricity, is an example of this. The one on display in the Attore Gualtelli museum, which was manually assembled from recycled parts, is of particular interest.

In the 1950s, Ettore Guatelli began increasingly regular visits to waste collectors’ storerooms in the Apennines, gradually laying the foundations for his future museum. From the mid-1970s, his collection expanded considerably, becoming unintentionally part of a growing trend in the seventies and eighties for the revival and promotion of popular culture. As a result, his establishment became a unique and inimitable demographic, ethnological and anthropological heritage museum of 20th-century Italy.

The items on display in the Ettore Guatelli Museum are a testimony to the human ingenuity and manual dexterity that characterises spontaneous design. More than just a commodity, they are a part of our cultural heritage, and, seen in that light, provide a valuable insight into the lives of individuals and humanity as a whole. As such, they are to be cherished and conserved. They are engaging and thought-provoking museum exhibits, stimulating dialogue, and debate with regard to their significance and the practices and knowledge they represent.