Terracotta

Sculpture of Hanuman in terra cotta.

Glazed building decoration at the Forbidden City, Beijing, China

The Etruscan sarcophagus of the spouses, at the National Etruscan Museum

The Bell Edison Telephone Building, Birmingham, England

The Natural History Museum in London has an ornate terracotta facade typical of high Victorian architecture. The carvings represent the contents of the Museum.

Terra cotta (Italian: "baked earth") is a waterproof ceramic. Its uses include vessels, water & waste water pipes and surface embellishment in building construction. The term is also used to refer to items made out of this material and to its natural, brownish orange color.

History

Terra cotta has been used throughout history for sculpture and pottery, as well as bricks and roof shingles. In ancient times, the first clay sculptures were dried (baked) in the sun after being formed. Later, they were placed in the ashes of open hearths to harden, and finally kilns were used, similar to those used for pottery today. However only after firing to high temperature would it be classed as a ceramic material

Users

Significant uses of terra cotta have included Emperor Qin Shi Huang's terra cotta Army of China, built in 210–209 BC. Mass producers of mold-cast and fired terra cotta figurines were also the ancient Greeks of Tanagra. French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse made many terra cotta 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. American architect Louis Sullivan is well-known for his elaborate glazed terra cotta ornamentation, designs that would have been impossible to execute in any other medium. Terra cotta and tile were used extensively in the town buildings of Victorian Birmingham, England.

Precolonial West African sculpture also made extensive use of terra cotta. The regions most recognized for producing terra cotta art in this part of the world include the Nok culture of central and north-central Nigeria, the Ife/Benin cultural axis in western and southern Nigeria (also noted for its exceptionally naturalistic sculpture), and the Igbo culture area of eastern Nigeria, which excelled in terra cotta pottery. These related, but separate, traditions also gave birth to elaborate schools of bronze and brass sculpture in the area.

Advantages in sculpture

As compared to bronze sculpture, terra cotta uses a far simpler process for creating the finished work. Reusable mold-making techniques may be used for series production. Compared to marble sculpture and other stonework the finished product is far lighter and may be further glazed to produce objects with color or durable simulations of metal patina. Robust durable works for outdoor use require greater thickness and so will be heavier, with more care needed in the drying of the unfinished piece to prevent cracking as the material shrinks. Structural considerations are similar to those required for stone sculpture.

See also

• List of colors
• Architectural terra cotta
• Glazed architectural terra cotta

External links

• Article on terracotta in Victorian and Edwardian Terracotta Buildings
• Bibliography, Smithsonian Institute, Ceramic Tiles and Architectural Terra Cotta
• Tile Heritage Foundation (US)
• Friends of Terra Cotta, non-profit foundation to promote education and preservation of architectural Terra Cotta
• Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society (UK)

Terra cotta
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#E2725B
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(226, 114, 91)
HSV (h, s, v)	(10°, 60%, 89%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(61, 90, 20°)
Source	[Unsourced]
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Dark Terra cotta
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#CC4E5C
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(204, 78, 92)
HSV (h, s, v)	(353°, 62%, 80%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(51, 92, 8°)
Source	[Unsourced]
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

See also

• List of colors