Women working

According to Lélia Coelho Frota, in the book Pequeno Dicionário da Arte do Povo Brasileiro, século XX [Small Dictionary of the Art of the Brazilian People, 20th century], RJ: Aeroplano, 2005, Porfírio Faustino became very well-known before the ‘40s, in Pernambuco, for representing figures of the carnival of the countryside, folguedo and ciranda. However, a research carried out by Abelardo Rodrigues and Hermilo Borba Filho (1969) revealed that the real authors of groups and individual figures, pioneers in the change of the ceramic repertoire of the region – even before Vitalino’s innovations – were his sons, then teenagers, Vastir and Israel, who signed their father’s name. The latter only manufactured containers for kitchen use and the so-called toy dishes, miniatures for children. The most creative out of Porfírio’s offspring was the lady Vastir Faustino Titara, with her figures of the carnival of the countryside, modeled and plated with another white mud before boiling. Before getting married, Vastir signed Porfírio as a surname in her figures, which caused the mistake about their authorship.