#engadine

“Serene fog scene in Engadine” by | Niels Oberson

Two tailed siren, crowned, on the side of a house in Sent, Engadine, Switzerland. Taken by George, 2008, via Flickr. Likely 1500s.

I got curious if there’s other two tails in Switzerland, and stumbled across “sgraffito,” a technique of etching or scratching plaster, and found a few more sirens done in sgraffito in Engadine. From the website Logbuch Schwiez:

Here's a zoomed in view of the siren and dragon, from the website lebendige-traditionen:

Both these sirens have round bellies, like this siren on a city hall building in Croatia. There's also this lovely siren, but I can only find her on image licensing websites like iphoto and alamy.

On a National Museum blog, the author says the technique came to Switzerland from Italy— Tuscany in the 15th century. It makes sense that Italian artisans brought two tailed sirens with them, as sirens are very popular in Italian decorative arts.

Clara Porges (1879-1963) - Blick vom unteren Schafberg auf die Engadiner Seen

Oil on canvas. Painted c.1921.

28.3 x 36.2 inches, 72 x 92 cm. Estimate: CHF 50,000-80,000.

Sold Koller, Zurich, 21 June 2024 for CHF 78,750 incl B.P.

when all of a sudden i see a fucking rubber duck on a lamppost.

i am nothing if not determinded so i call my mum up and im like "i need to climb on your shoulders so i can try and get a rubber duck." she is immediately down, because we are insane!

we discover once i'm up there it has been glued down. and i was fine with it! i was just like 'ah well, no ducks for me.'

like 5 minutes later i fucking see another one

and then some more

AND THEN SOME MORE

at this point, im so fucking perplexed. i need to know more; who the fuck is doing this.

so after some internet scouring, i find this reddit post on r/rubberducks

hmmm... potentially nothing, just a duck enthusiast. BUT-

THEY ARE THE SAME FUCKING DUCKS! so i check out this mans reddit account.

THATS ENGADINE,,,, IVE FOUND THE CULPRIT! so i keep looking

he has been doing this,,,, for 6 years,,,,,,,,,, sir what!!!

HE HAS A DUCK TRAMPSTAMP????

AND AN ACTUAL PET DUCK.

A hallway leading to the master suite and guest rooms is distinctively defined by carved and painted Arven wood that was patterned after the woodcarving of Switzerland’s Engadine region.

Sass Queder, Engadine (from the series Unseen Sights), 2021

‘The light in the Engadine: even when it’s foggy, rays of sun break through the clouds and illuminate parts of the landscape’

Take a peak: Douglas Mandry’s mountain highs – in pictures