Terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta, is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic fired at relatively low temperatures. The term is used for earthenware objects of certain types, as set out below.
Usage and definitions of the term vary, such as:
- In art, pottery, applied art, and craft, terracotta is a term often used for red-coloured earthenware sculptures or functional articles such as flower pots, water and waste water pipes, and tableware.
- In archaeology and art history, terracotta is often used to describe objects such as figurines and loom weights not made on a potter's wheel, with vessels and other objects made on a wheel from the same material referred to as earthenware; the choice of term depends on the type of object rather than the material or shaping technique.
- Terracotta is also used to refer to the natural brownish-orange color of most terracotta.
- In architecture, the term encompasses many building materials made of fired ceramic for exterior covering. Architectural terracotta can also refer to ornate decorative ceramic elements such as antefixes and revetments, which had a large impact on the appearance of temples and other buildings in the classical architecture of Europe, as well as in the Ancient Near East.
In art history
Asia and the Middle East
Terracotta female figurines were uncovered by archaeologists in excavations of Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan. Along with phallus-shaped stones, these suggest some sort of fertility cult. The Burney Relief is an outstanding terracotta plaque from Ancient Mesopotamia of about 1950 BCE. In Mesoamerica, the great majority of Olmec figurines were in terracotta. Many ushabti mortuary statuettes were also made of terracotta in Ancient Egypt.File:Female terracotta figurines - Mohenjo-daro - BM.jpg|thumb|Fragments of female terracotta figurines. Handmade, with appliquéd ornaments, especially elaborate coiffures and fan-shaped headdresses. From Mohenjo-daro, Mature Harappan Period. British Museum.
India
Terracotta has been a medium for art since the Harappan civilization, although techniques used differed in each time period. In the Mauryan times, they were mainly figures of mother goddesses, indicating a fertility cult. Moulds were used for the face, whereas the body was hand-modelled. In the Shungan times, a single mould was used to make the entire figure and depending upon the baking time, the colour differed from red to light orange. The Satavahanas used two different moulds- one for the front and the other for the back and kept a piece of clay in each mould and joined them together, making some artefacts hollow from within. Some Satavahana terracotta artefacts also seem to have a thin strip of clay joining the two moulds. This technique may have been imported from the Romans and is seen nowhere else in the country.Contemporary centres for terracotta figurines include West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. In Bishnupur, West Bengal, the terracotta pattern–panels on the temples are known for their intricate details. The Bankura Horse is also very famous and belongs to the Bengal school of terracotta. Madhya Pradesh is one of the most prominent production centres of terracotta art today. The tribes of the Bastar have a rich tradition. They make intricate designs and statues of animals and birds. Hand-painted clay and terracotta products are produced in Gujarat. The Aiyanar cult in Tamil Nadu is associated with life-size terracotta statues.
Traditional terracotta sculptures, mainly religious, also continue to be made. The demand for this craft is seasonal, reaching its peak during the harvest festival, when new pottery and votive idols are required. During the rest of the year, the makers rely on agriculture or some other means of income. The designs are often redundant as crafters apply similar reliefs and techniques for different subjects. Customers suggest subjects and uses for each piece.
To sustain the legacy, the Indian Government has established the Sanskriti Museum of Indian Terracotta in New Delhi. The initiative encourages ongoing work in this medium through displays terracotta from different sub-continent regions and periods. In 2010, the India Post Service issued a stamp commemorating the craft which shows a terracotta doll from the craft museum.
China
Chinese sculpture made great use of terracotta, with and without glazing and color, from a very early date. The famous Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, 209–210 BCE, was somewhat untypical, and two thousand years ago reliefs were more common, in tombs and elsewhere. Later Buddhist figures were often made in painted and glazed terracotta, with the Yixian glazed pottery luohans, probably of 1150–1250, now in various Western museums, among the most prominent examples. Brick-built tombs from the Han dynasty were often finished on the interior wall with bricks decorated on one face; the techniques included molded reliefs. Later tombs contained many figures of protective spirits and animals and servants for the afterlife, including the famous horses of the Tang dynasty; as an arbitrary matter of terminology these tend not to be referred to as terracottas.Africa
Precolonial West African sculpture also made extensive use of terracotta. The regions most recognized for producing terracotta art in that part of the world include the Nok culture of central and north-central Nigeria, the Ife-Benin cultural axis in western and southern Nigeria, and the Igbo culture area of eastern Nigeria, which excelled in terracotta pottery. These related, but separate, traditions also gave birth to elaborate schools of bronze and brass sculpture in the area.Europe
The Ancient Greeks' Tanagra figurines were mass-produced mold-cast and fired terracotta figurines, that seem to have been widely affordable in the Hellenistic period, and often purely decorative in function. They were part of a wide range of Greek terracotta figurines, which included larger and higher-quality works such as the Aphrodite Heyl; the Romans too made great numbers of small figurines, which were often used in a religious context as cult statues or temple decorations. Etruscan art often used terracotta in preference to stone even for larger statues, such as the near life-size Apollo of Veii and the Sarcophagus of the Spouses. Campana reliefs are Ancient Roman terracotta reliefs, originally mostly used to make friezes for the outside of buildings, as a cheaper substitute for stone.File:Clodion River Rhine Kimbell.jpg|thumb|The River Rhine Separating the Waters; by Claude Michel; 1765; terracotta; 27.9× 45.7× 30.5cm; Kimbell Art Museum
European medieval art made little use of terracotta sculpture, until the late 14th century, when it became used in advanced International Gothic workshops in parts of Germany. The Virgin illustrated at the start of the article from Bohemia is the unique example known from there. A few decades later, there was a revival in the Italian Renaissance, inspired by excavated classical terracottas as well as the German examples, which gradually spread to the rest of Europe. In Florence, Luca della Robbia was a sculptor who founded a family dynasty specializing in glazed and painted terracotta, especially large roundels which were used to decorate the exterior of churches and other buildings. These used the same techniques as contemporary maiolica and other tin-glazed pottery. Other sculptors included Pietro Torrigiano, who produced statues, and in England busts of the Tudor royal family. The unglazed busts of the Roman Emperors adorning Hampton Court Palace, by Giovanni da Maiano, 1521, were another example of Italian work in England. They were originally painted but this has now been lost from weathering.
In the 18th-century unglazed terracotta, which had long been used for preliminary clay models or maquettes that were then fired, became fashionable as a material for small sculptures including portrait busts. It was much easier to work than carved materials, and allowed a more spontaneous approach by the artist. Claude Michel, known as Clodion, was an influential pioneer in France. John Michael Rysbrack, a Flemish portrait sculptor working in England, sold his terracotta modelli for larger works in stone, and produced busts only in terracotta. In the next century the French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse made many terracotta pieces, but possibly the most famous is The Abduction of Hippodameia depicting the Greek mythological scene of a centaur kidnapping Hippodameia on her wedding day.
Architecture
History
Architectural terracotta is a broad term encompassing a wide ranging variety of clay-based architectural elements such as wall reliefs, decorative roof elements, and architectural sculpture.Many ancient and traditional roofing styles included more elaborate sculptural elements than the plain roof tiles, such as Chinese Imperial roof decoration and the antefix of western classical architecture. In India West Bengal made a speciality of terracotta temples, with the sculpted decoration from the same material as the main brick construction.
Architectural terracotta experienced a resurgence in western architecture starting in the mid-19th century. Starting in Europe, architects designed elaborate buildings relying on terracotta detailing for their facades. James Taylor was one of the first producers of architectural terracotta to find success in the United States, using his experience manufacturing the material in England to guide his work in North America.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 led to increased demand for fireproof materials in urban settings, and helped drive the following push for architectural terracotta throughout North America. The material remained popular through the early 1900s, with its versatility allowing it to support a variety of architectural styles such as Rennaissance revival, neo-Gothic, and Art deco.
Emerging trends in Modernist architecture favoring the use of concrete and glass significantly reduced demand for architectural terracotta starting in the 1930s. In the time since, the material has experienced a resurgence of interest, favored for work in postmodern and revivalist architectural styles.