Terracotta facts for kids
Terracotta is a red clay-based baked ceramic, usually unglazed.
Its uses include vessels, water and waste water pipes and surface embellishment in building construction, along with sculpture such as the Terracotta Army and Greek terracotta figurines. The term is also used to refer to items made out of this material and to its natural, brownish orange color, which varies considerably.
Production and properties
Clay is partially dried and cast, molded, or hand worked into the desired shape. After thorough drying, it is placed in a kiln, or atop combustible material in a pit, and then fired.
After pit firing the hot ware is covered with sand to cool, and after kiln firing the kiln is slowly cooled. When unglazed, the material will not be waterproof, but it is suitable for in-ground use to carry pressurized water (an archaic use), for garden ware, and sculpture or building decoration in tropical environments, and for oil containers, oil lamps, or ovens. Most other uses such as for table ware, sanitary piping, or building decoration in freezing environments require that the material be glazed. Terracotta, if uncracked, will ring if lightly struck, but not as brightly as will ware fired at higher temperature, which is called stoneware. The fired material is weak compared to stoneware.
Some types of terracotta are created from clay that includes recycled terracotta ("grog").
The unglazed color after firing can vary widely, but most common clays contain enough iron to cause an orange, orangish red, or brownish orange color, with this range including various colors described as "terracotta". Other colors include yellow, gray, and pink.
Images for kids
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International Gothic Bohemian bust of the Virgin Mary; circa 1390–1395; terracotta with polychromy; 32.5 x 22.4 x 13.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (Manhattan)
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One of the warriors of the Terracotta Army, a famous collection of Ancient Chinese terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China
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Ancient Greek statuette of a draped woman; 2nd century BC; terracotta; height: 29.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
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The River Rhine Separating the Waters; by Claude Michel; 1765; terracotta; 27.9 × 45.7 × 30.5 cm; Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, Texas, US)
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Imperial roof decoration in the Forbidden City
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he Etruscan "Sarcophagus of the Spouses", at the National Etruscan Museum, c 520 BCE
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ealthy 'middle-class' women: so-called Tanagra figurine, ancient Greece, 325–150 BCE, Altes Museum
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ndian terracotta figures, Gupta dynasty
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[Han dynasty]] tomb brick relief
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ust of an unidentified man by Pierre Merard, 1786, France
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ritish Museum, Seated Luohan from Yixian, from the Yixian glazed pottery luohans, probably of 1150–1250
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Maximilien Robespierre]], unglazed bust by Claude-André Deseine, 1791
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erracotta temple, Bishnupur, India, a famous centre for terracotta temples
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indu temple, 1739, Kalna, India
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erracotta designs outside the Kantajew Temple, Dinajpur, Bangladesh
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he Natural History Museum in London has an ornate terracotta facade typical of high Victorian architecture. The carvings represent the contents of the Museum.
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Modern painted horses beside a sacred tree, Tamil Nadu, India
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The famous Terracotta artwork from Bankura, West Bengal, India
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See also
In Spanish: Terracota para niños
