Growth of Terracotta

The word ‘terracotta’ means baked sand, and as the name suggests, it is used to refer to items made out of earthen clay. It is the art of creating glazed or unglazed porous earthenware, figurines, and other decorative materials from clay which is dried and fired in temperatures of around 1000°C giving it a distinctly orange, red, brown, yellow, or grey color.

Terracotta, a functional art, is the first creative expression of civilization. In fact, the use of the five elements: air, water, earth, fire, and ether in Terracotta art-form lend it both an air of mystery and auspiciousness as per Hindu beliefs.

From the common earthen pot that stores drinking water to the giant-sized cultic equestrian figures of the rural Tamil deities of the Aiyyanar cult, terracotta art occupies a central position in Indian life and culture. It would be a long search for a village or locality in India where a potter is not to be found.

In the world of Indian terracotta, we find the shared expression of an entire community. Terracotta art bears testimony to the varied and ancient traditions of its practice in India over five millennia. Having always had their existence outside the rigid rules of the shilpashastras or the constituted Hindu canons governing artistic expression, terracotta art enjoys enormous freedom in terms of imagination and conception.

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