Greek terracotta figurine or Tanagra figurine, 2nd century BC height: 29.2 cm Many ushabti mortuary statuettes were also made of terracotta in Ancient Egypt. In Mesoamerica, the great majority of Olmec figurines were in terracotta. The Burney Relief is an outstanding terracotta plaque from Ancient Mesopotamia of about 1950 BC. Along with phallus-shaped stones, these suggest some sort of fertility cult. Terracotta female figurines were uncovered by archaeologists in excavations of Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan (3000–1500 BC). Terracotta sculpture was very rarely left in its "raw" fired state in the West until the 18th century. It has been very widely used but the paint is only suitable for indoor positions and is much less durable than fired colors in or under a ceramic glaze. Painted ( polychrome) terracotta is typically first covered with a thin coat of gesso, then painted. Terracotta, if uncracked, will ring if lightly struck. Most other uses, such as for tableware, sanitary piping, or building decoration in freezing environments, require the material to be glazed. It is suitable for use below ground to carry pressurized water (an archaic use), for garden pots and irrigation or building decoration in many environments, and for oil containers, oil lamps, or ovens. One of the warriors of the Terracotta Army, mould-made Ancient Chinese terracotta sculptures of the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China Properties įired terracotta is not watertight, but surface-burnishing the body before firing can decrease its porousness and a layer of glaze can make it watertight. This is less common, but features for example in the architecture of Bengal on Hindu temples and mosques. Ī final method is to carve fired bricks or other terracotta shapes. The iron content, reacting with oxygen during firing, gives the fired body a reddish color, though the overall color varies widely across shades of yellow, orange, buff, red, "terracotta", pink, grey or brown. The typical firing temperature is around 1,000 ☌ (1,830 ☏), though it may be as low as 600 ☌ (1,112 ☏) in historic and archaeological examples. After drying, it is placed in a kiln or atop combustible material in a pit, and then fired. Alternatively it may be made with one or more moulds. The most common method of production is to take an appropriate refined clay, then form it to the desired shape. Perhaps most common is a combination of these, building up the broad shape and then removing pieces, or adding more, to produce details. Pieces can be formed by both an "additive" technique, adding portions of clay to the growing pieces, or a "subtractive" one, carving into a solid lump with a knife or similar tool. Terracotta is a very flexible material to sculpt. Architectural terracotta can also refer to decorated ceramic elements such as antefixes and revetments, which made a large contribution to the appearance of temples and other buildings in the classical architecture of Europe, as well as in the Ancient Near East. Glazed architectural terracotta and its unglazed version as exterior surfaces for buildings were used in East Asia for some centuries before becoming popular in the West in the 19th century. Glazed terracotta for tableware, and other vessels, is called earthenware, or by a more precise term such as faience which denotes a particular type of glaze. Unglazed pieces, and those made for building construction and industry, are also more likely to be referred to as terracotta. Vessels and other objects that are or might be made on a wheel from the same material are called earthenware pottery the choice of term depends on the type of object rather than the material or firing technique. In archaeology and art history, "terracotta" is often used to describe objects such as figurines not made on a potter's wheel. The term is also used to refer to the natural brownish orange color of most terracotta. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta is the term normally used for sculpture made in earthenware and also for various practical uses, including vessels (notably flower pots), water and waste water pipes, roofing tiles, bricks, and surface embellishment in building construction.
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