Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
TERRACOTTA
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: TAV-THE
del.icio.us it!
|
TERRACOTTA . See also:Greek.—The use of See also:clay amongst the Greeks was very varied and extensive, but we are here only concerned with one aspect of it, that in which the clay was baked without any glaze, whether employed for utilitarian or ornamental purposes. The Greek See also:term for this is yn oartil, " baked See also:earth "; the word 7rrlXos when applied to worked clay signifies " See also:sun-dried " only. Among the manifold purposes to which terracotta was put by the Greeks may be mentioned parts of public and private buildings, such as bricks, roof tiles, drain and flue tiles, and architectural ornaments; tombs and coffins; statues and statuettes, for votive or sepulchral purposes or for the decoration of houses; imitations of See also:metal vases and See also:jewelry; and such everyday See also:objects as spindle whorls, See also:theatre tickets, lamps, braziers and domestic utensils. It also supplied the See also:potter with moulds and the sculptor with See also:models of See also:works of See also:art, especially in See also:bronze.
654
Use in See also:Architecture.—In architecture terracotta was extensively employed for roof tiles and other decorative details, as has been shown by many See also:recent discoveries, especially at See also:Olympia. In the Heraion we have the See also:oldest example of a terracotta roof. A 6th-See also:century See also:temple at Thermonin See also:Acarnania is also constructed of See also:wood and terracotta, with painted terra-See also:cotta slabs in wooden frames for metopes. The generic term for a roof See also:tile was KEpauos, and these are classified as See also:flat square tiles (areyaorilpes or acoXilves) and semi-cylindrical covering tiles (Kakuarrlpes). Other varieties of ornamental tiles used in buildings are (I) the covering slabs along the raking-See also:cornice (yeiaov) of the See also:pediment; (2) the Kuµarcov or cornice above the ryeiaov; (3) the cornice along the sides with lions' See also:head spouts to carry off See also:rain-See also:water; (4) the &, pwr1 pta or antefixal ornaments surmounting the See also:side-tiles. These latter varieties were usually enriched with decoration in See also:colour, the KV/thl-LOP being painted with elaborate patterns of lotosand-See also:honeysuckle or Greek See also: The See also:British Museum has an interesting See also:series of 6th-century date from See also:Capua, with gorgons' heads, See also:female busts, and other subjects in See also:relief, and others come from an See also:early 5th-century temple at Civita Lavinia. Many coloured roof tiles have been found at Olympia. In See also:Sicily and See also:southern See also:Italy a See also:fashion prevailed of nailing slabs of terracotta over the See also:surface of the stonework (a See also:legacy from the See also:epoch of wooden buildings which required See also:protection from the See also:weather). These were ornamented with lotos-andhoneysuckle and other patterns, sometimes in relief but always richly coloured. They occur at Olympia in the See also:Treasury of See also:Gela, by a Sicilian architect, and also in a temple at See also:Selinus. The best example of this practice is the temple at Civita Lavinia already cited, the remains of which belong partly to the 6th, partly to the 4th century B.C. See also:Sculpture.—The subject of Greek sculpture in terracotta is a large one, and only its brief outlines can be given here. Of large or See also:life-See also:size statues comparatively few examples are known, and they can only be said to be See also:common in See also:Cyprus, where See also:marble was difficult to procure; they are also more frequent in Italy, as will be seen later. But the use of clay for the See also:reproduction of the human figure was one of the earliest instincts of the See also:race, and may be traced back as far as archaeological records exist, to the days of the Minoan and See also:Aegean supremacies. Terracotta figures of a very See also:primitive See also:character have been found in See also:Crete, in Melos and at Olympia, and one series of figures from Petsofa in Crete is remarkable for the very See also:modern fashions of head-See also:dress and costumes. Terracotta figures of more advanced See also:style have also been found in See also:Rhodes and other places dating from the Mycenaean See also:period. Greek traditions on the subject go back to one See also:Butades of Sikyon, a potter who was credited with the invention of See also:model-See also:ling clay in relief; and the Samian sculptors See also:Theodorus and Rhoikos, who lived about the end of the 7th century B.c., were said to have been the first to use clay models for statues. As they were supposed to have introduced hollow casting in bronze, it was obviously for this purpose that they employed clay. But this material was later superseded by See also:wax, and for marble statues was not used until See also:Roman times. The small terracotta figures used as ornaments or See also:household gods, buried in tombs or dedicated in temples, trace their See also:pedigree from the prehistoric examples already mentioned. They have been found in large See also:numbers on nearly all the well-known sites of antiquity, the most fruitful being Tanagra in See also:Boeotia, Myrina in See also:Asia See also:Minor, Rhodes, the See also:Cyrenaica, See also:Athens, Sicily, and some of the towns of southern Italy. They are also found in Cyprus and See also:Sardinia, where, as to some extent in Rhodes, they follow a See also:peculiar development, under the domination of Phoenician See also:influence, and many of the earlier typeshave a markedly See also:oriental character. But in the Greek terracottas we may trace a steady development from the primitive types which correspond to the 6ava of primitive Greek See also:religion, and for the most See also:part represent actual deities, down to the purely genre figures of Tanagra and other Hellenistic See also:pro. ducts of highly-See also:developed beauty. For beauty and See also:charm the See also:palm has by See also:general consent been given to the Tanagra figures of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. which were known in antiquity as Kbpat or " maidens," from the presence of seated or See also:standing types of girls in various attitudes. The makers of these figures were known as wpm-Mon-at or Koponr?aaoc, and are spoken of in literature, together with their wares, with some contempt. Manufacture.—The processes employed in the manufacture of terracottas are five in number: (I) the preparation of the clay; (2) moulding; (3) retouching; (4) See also:baking; and (5) colouring and See also:gilding. The last named, though not essential, was almost universal in some form or another.' The clay used for the statuettes varies greatly in different localities, and this is an important criterion for distinguishing the different sites of manufacture. It ranges in colour from a deep red (as in the See also:brick-like terracottas of Naukratis) to a See also:pale See also:buff or drab as in Cyprus, and the fired product is generally softer than that of the painted vases. It was prepared by washing the See also:local clay See also:free from all granular substances and then kneading it with the aid of water. The modelling was done by See also:hand in the case of the earlier figures, and small objects such as toys and dolls, which are solid; the clay was worked up into a See also:mass with the fingers, the marks of which may often be seen. Subsequently the use of moulds became universal, the final touches being given to the figure either with the fingers or with a graving See also:tool. The finer statuettes, such as those of Tanagra, are invariably moulded, and the better examples show traces of very careful retouching. The See also:advantage of moulding was that the " walls " of the figure could be reduced to a very See also:regular thickness, obviating the danger of shrinkage in the baking; it also rendered them very See also:light, and permitted See also:great accuracy In detail. A model (apbrunros) was first made in terracotta with modelling tools, from which the See also:mould (rvaros) was taken, also in terracotta and usually in two pieces, which were, then baked to a considerable hardness. From this mould the figure was made by smearing it with layers of clay until a sufficient thickness was reached, leaving the figure hollow. The back was made separately, either from a mould or by hand, and then fitted carefully to the front, the seam or join being run up with soft clay. The See also:base was usually See also:left open, and a vent hole was left in the back, which aided the clay to dry and to be re-fired without cracking, and was also used sometimes for suspending the figure when finished. The heads and arms were usually moulded separately, and attached or luted to the See also:body with soft clay. Greek moulds for statuettes are somewhat rare, but there are examples known from Kertch, See also:Smyrna, See also:Girgenti and See also:Tarentum; the British Museum has a series from the last-named site (PI. I. fig. 3). Most of these are for small figures only.
The shrinkage of the clay as it dried permitted the figure to be See also:drawn easily from the mould, and the reproduction was then ready for retouching. It is obvious, from a glance at any collection of terracottas, that there is a great similarity between the various examples of any one type, and that many are virtually, if not actually, replicas of one another. This of course was due to the fact that only a limited number of moulds were used, corresponding to the various types. The See also:minute See also:differences between them, which constitute the charming variety found amongst these figures, and prevent monotony even where the type is See also:constant, were obtained by the See also:process of retouching, as well as by varying the pose of the head or limbs, or by differences of attributes and colourings. Actual retouching by a skilled modeller is seldom found except in the finer examples.
The process of baking required great care and See also:attention, for if no See also:allowance were made for the evaporation of moisture, or if too great a degree of temperature were reached, the result was disastrous. The clay was ensured against drying too rapidly by preliminary exposure to See also:air and'See also:sunshine, while the temperature employed in firing was See also:low even See also:lower than that used for painted vases.
The colouring of the baked statuettes was fairly universal, the See also:chief exceptions being some of the more archaic examples, and many of the Roman period. The surface on which the See also:colours was laid was formed by a See also: On the white slip-facing opaque 'See also:Clever forgeries of Greek terracotta figures are now being produced both in See also:France and Italy. Admitted copies are also made in See also:Berlin and See also:Vienna, but these are generally so inferior in See also:artistic merit as not to deceive any one who knows the genuine See also:article. colours were painted in See also:tempera colours. The, colouring was usually conventional, and only aimed at imparting a pleasing See also:appearance to the figure. It was necessarily applied after the firing, as many of the See also:pigments used would have been altered or destroyed at the firing temperature of the body. The tints were body-colours, applied without shading, and red, blue, yellow and See also:black are those most commonly employed, the white slip serving for the nude parts and generally also for the ground-See also:work. Blue and red were especially favoured for drapery, as in many of the Tanagra figures; the red ranging from See also:scarlet to See also:pink or See also:rose See also:purple. Black was only used for the eyes or details of features; yellow (varying to deep brown) for the See also:hair, and also for jewelry. Gilding is rare but was frequently employed in later times for terracotta imitations of jewelry. In the primitive terracottas and those of Cyprus or other centres which adhered to primitive methods, the decoration is in stripes of matt black and red paint applied in a conventional manner to human figures and animals alike. True glazes or enamels are occasionally found, as for instance in the later terracottas of Sicily, where they are employed both for drapery and for flesh colours. Greek terracotta statuettes have been discovered in tombs, on the sites of sanctuaries, and in private houses. The See also:tomb-finds are scattered all over the Mediterranean littoral, and the chief sites have already been noted ; among the sanctuaries we may cite Olympia, the See also:Acropolis at Athens, the See also:temenos of See also:Demeter at Knidos, the temples at Naukratis in the See also:Egyptian See also:Delta, many sites in Cyprus, and temples at Selinus in Sicily and Tarentum. The purposes for which these statuettes were used, (a) for religious See also:rites, (b) in daily life, (c) in funeral ceremonies, have been the subject of much debate. Since the same types and subjects are common to each of these classes of discoveries it is obvious that the terracottas cannot have been intended for one purpose alone even if their See also:primary significance was religious. Numerous theories have been advanced on this subject, some authorities having maintained that their meaning was exclusively religious or mythological, that they originally corresponded to the Egyptian ushabti, and that these religious types were afterwards adopted for See also:ordinary human figures symbolizing the life of the deceased beyond the tomb. The See also:gradual See also:change in popular See also:taste from figures of deities to figures of a genre type is unquestionably a feature of the development of this See also:branch of art, but that the development was affected by religious ideas is more open to doubt. It is more probable that it followed the lines of artistic See also:evolution, and that the continued use of terracottas as votive or funeral offerings became more or less a See also:convention. In fact, the identity of the types, under what-ever circumstances they are found, seems to indicate that the significance was given to them by the purchaser, who would decide for himself whether he offered them to some appropriate deity, deposited them in the tomb of some relative, or kept them for use and decoration in his own See also:house. Subjects and Types.—The earliest beginnings of the statuettes proper show, as might be expected in primitive Greek art, a very limited range of subjects. As in other materials, so also in clay, the female deity reigns supreme. The primitive Hellenic type of goddess adopts two forms, both derived from an See also:original in wood, the See also:board-form Qavis, and the See also:column form slaw or Ebavov, both of which we find also in sculpture. The limbs are wanting, or are at best rudimentary, the figure terminating below in a spreading base. Both types are found in Rhodes, but on the mainland of See also:Greece the columnar type died out after the Mycenaean period, and only the board-type remained, this being specially popular in Boeotia, where both standing and sitting figures occur, painted in the same style as the local vases. This type was adhered to for the bodies of figures even when the head was modelled in a more advanced style of art. The column-type is also well exemplified in Cyprus. The standing and seated goddesses are the two See also:principal types in archaic Greek art (Pl. II. fig. 4) , and are widely distributed and of universal popularity; though the conception of the goddess may vary with the locality, the types are almost identical, and the attributes are but slightly varied. A certain proportion of these deities are differentiated as nature-goddesses, either as a nude goddess in a See also:shrine or a seated figure with a See also:child in her See also:lap who may be described as the Earth-See also:Mother. Both types are of oriental origin. Another common archaic type is the funeral See also:mask or bust, hollow at the back, which is found both in central Greece and Rhodes. Being almost always feminine it seems probable that these are not images of the deceased, but the Chthonian goddesses Demeter and Persephone, playing in the tombs the role of protectress against evil influences. We may also mention here the little figures of animals, See also:women and See also:children variously occupied, and jointed dolls (ssupbvaaura) which can only have served the purpose of children's toys. In Athens, Melos and Rhodes, many of these have been found in children's See also:graves. The See also:evidence of finds and other indications seems to show that these archaic types were not affected by the rapid development of Greek art in the 5th century, but continued in See also:vogue until the end of that period. Certainly there are very few terracottas of developed style which can be assigned to an earlier period than the 4th century, and many figures of archaic type can be shown from the contents of the tombs in which they are found not to be earlier than the5th century B.c. The See also:reason for this is probably See also:hieratic. Owing to their religious associations old conventional types continued in use, whereas painted vases and the See also:majority of sculptures of a higher class were not affected by such considerations. Therefore we are not surprised when we come to the later terracottas of the See also:fine period, or 4th century, to find the standing and seated feminine types still prominent. But the change in style is also accompanied by a change in conception, and in See also:place of the goddess we now have the Greek See also:lady—in place of the mythological the genre. The transformation was'quite a See also:simple one, and it needed little change to convert a See also:nursing goddess into a mother with her little one, or a Persephone holding a See also:flower into a girl of Tanagra. The change in fact was artistic rather than religious; an evolution rather than a revolution. The figures were still placed in tombs and shrines, though the old associations were less strongly See also:felt. In See also:order to know what were the characteristics of the best Greek work in terracotta we must turn our attention to its most typical pro-ducts, the Tanagra statuettes (Pl. II. fig. 4). Here we havean almost unlimited variety of feminine figures illustrating the daily life of Greek women. In most cases the arms are more or less concealed by the See also:mantle which is drawn closely across the figure, even covering the hands; but many hold a See also:fan, a See also:mirror, a See also:wreath, or a theatrical mask in one hand, while with the other they gather together the folds of their draperies. The See also:long See also:tunic or See also:chiton and the mantle or himation, which all without exception See also:wear, formed the typical dress of the Greek matron and girl; and to this was added for out-See also:door wear a large shady See also:hat. The seated types follow on the same lines, but are not so common. These figures range in date from about 350 to 200 B.C., and their See also:inspiration is probably drawn rather from the See also:painting than the sculpture of the period. The terracottas of See also:Eretria in See also:Euboea and of Myrina in Asia Minor stand next in artistic merit, but are of more markedly Hellenistic character; they are freer from See also:ancient tradition, but tend to de-generate into exaggeration of pose and conception. Here the types of divinities so conspicuously absent at Tanagra reappear; in particular See also:Eros or See also:Cupid, the one deity who universally caught the popular taste in the Hellenistic See also:age, and in the many representations of whom we see the prototypes of the Pompeian Amoretti; See also:Aphrodite, Dionysos and Victory are also popular themes. At , some times the Tanagra types are repeated here, as, with varying artistic success, in other parts of the Mediterranean littoral. Though no other Greek site has produced terracottas of such artistic merit as the two just discussed, there are others where the art enjoyed great popularity, either for a comparatively brief period or through the whole See also:history of Greek art. Some of these centres of manufacture have already received mention or at least allusion, but we may briefly See also:call attention' to a few others. From Sicily we possess a See also:complete series, from archaic to later times, the earlier being best represented at Selinus, where a great variety of richly coloured figures have been found; there are also many fine heads of 5th century style, and later figures of Aphrodite, Eros and other deities imitating the later types of Hellenistic art. At Naukratis in the Egyptian Delta the later terracottas are strongly influenced by Egyptian ideas, and figures like See also:Bes and See also:Horus are found in See also:conjunction with orientalized Aphrodite-types. In the Cyrenaica on the See also:north See also:coast of See also:Africa the influence of Tanagra is apparent, but the style is for the most part degenerate. The terracottas of Tarentum stand apart from those of other sites, being markedly funereal in character; many represent Dionysos reclining at a banquet. Elsewhere in Southern Italy the types correspond to those of Sicily and other Mediterranean sites. Terracotta work in relief, apart from definitely architectural examples, is almost limited to two small classes, both belonging to the beginning of the 5th century. These groups, known respectively as " Melian and Locrian reliefs, consist of small plaques, possibly intended to be inserted in the walls of temples or shrines. The subjects of the Locrian reliefs, which mostly relate to the myth and cult of Persephone, seem to indicate that they at least were of a votive character. They occur at See also:Locri in Southern Italy, and similar examples dedicated to See also:Athena have been found on the Acropolis at Athens. The Melian reliefs exhibit a wider See also:scope of subjects, mainly mythological ; the work is exceedingly delicate and refined in character. Some are simple plaques; others have the figures cut out without background, or only the See also:outer See also:con-See also:tours. They have been found on various Greek sites, the majority in Melos (Pl. I. fig. 2). There is a class of vases which comes rather under the heading of terracotta than of pottery, from its technical character and general appearance. These are found at See also:Canosa, See also:Calvi, See also:Cumae and elsewhere in Southern Italy, and belong to the Hellenistic period (Pl. II. fig. 5). They combine in a marked degree the characteristics of the See also:vase and the statuette, some being vases with moulded reliefs or small figures in the See also:round attached; others actual figures or See also:colossal heads modelled in vase form, with the addition of mouth, handle and base. They are often of gigantic size, and do not appear to have served any See also:practical purpose; probably they were made specially for the tomb. They are covered with a white slip like the statuettes, and are often richly coloured. Some even have subjects painted in some permanent process like encaustic. The form usually adopted is that of a spherical vase with a flat handle on the See also:top and three tall mouths. See also:Etruscan Terracotta Work.—Some features of terracotta work are peculiar to the See also:people of See also:Etruria, who employed this material both for finer works of art and for more utilitarian purposes. Several ancient writers speak of their preference for clay and their skill in its use. See also:Pliny attributes its introduction to Corinthian refugees in the 7th century, and states that the art of modelling in clay was brought to perfection in Italy, and especially in Etruria. Certainly for their statues the Etruscans appear to have preferred clay to other materials (except perhaps bronze), and also for use in architecture. The See also:Romans employed Etruscan artists to decorate their temples, and the statue of See also:Jupiter on the Capitol was made by Volca of See also:Veii about 50o B.C., in clay painted See also:vermilion, as was also the See also:chariot on the pediment of the temple. For the decoration of temples terracotta remained in use even down to Roman times; these buildings being usually of wood covered with slabs of terracotta, like the early Greek buildings discussed in the pre-ceding See also:section. Remains of temples with terracotta decoration of this See also:kind have been found at Ccrvetri (See also:Caere), at Alatri, and at Civita Castellana (See also:Falerii), as well as at Civita Lavinia (v. supra). Other remains of terracotta decorations come from See also:Conca (See also:Satricum), See also:Orvieto, See also:Pitigliano and Luni, where the pediment of the temple has the figures of Olympian deities, See also:muses and the slaughter of Niobids, all executed in terracotta on a large See also:scale. The date of these sculptures is about 200 B.C. At Alatri and Falerii the decoration consists of a complete See also:system of terracotta plating pver the woodwork of the See also:roofs and architraves, ornamented with patterns in relief or painted and surmounted with carved antefixal ornaments. Some of the antefixae from Cervetri are very effective examples of sculpture and exhibit in a marked degree the influence of Ionic Greek art, due to the Hellenic elements with which the See also:civilization of Caere and the Campanian cities was permeated. The form of See also:monument which best exhibits the Etruscan fondness for terracotta as a material for sculpture is the See also:sarcophagus, of which some remarkable archaic examples exist, and a considerable number of later date. Among the former the most conspicuous example is the well-known Castellani sarcophagus in the British Museum, dating from the end of the 6th century B.c. The sides are decorated with friezes of figures in relief, and on the See also:cover is a See also:group of a See also:man and a woman reclining, executed in the round life-size. These figures are undoubtedly genuine native work, and in the obvious inability of the sculptor to achieve success in working in the round they contrast strongly with the reliefs, which are truly Hellenic in style if not in subject. There are similar examples in the Louvre, and in the Museo Papa Giulio at See also:Rome. The later sarcophagi which belong to the 3rd century B.C. follow on the same lines. They invariably consist of a rectangular body or See also:coffer with sculptured reliefs on the front and sides, and a flat cover on which reclines a figure representing the deceased See also:person. They were used for holding the ashes of the dead. Usually they are of small size, measuring not more than 18 by 12 by 12 in., but some are large enough for a body to See also:lie in at full length. The reliefs freely modelled in the style of later Etruscan art are often of a funerary character, representing the last farewell to the dead in the presence of See also:Charon and other See also:death,.deities; others have mythological subjects, such as the combat of Eteokles and Polyneikes; the slaying of the See also:dragon by Kadmos; or the parting of Admetos and Alkestis. They are usually painted in tempera on a white ground, the See also:bright colouring having a very vivid effect. By far the finest examples of this class are one from Cervetri, now in the British Museum, and another very similar in the Archaeological Museum at See also:Florence, with which were found coins of about 150 B.C. The former (Pl. I. fig. 1) is shown by its inscription to be the tomb of one Seianti Thanunia, whose life-size effigy adorns its cover; a most realistic example of Etruscan portrait-sculpture in perfect preservation, richly coloured, and adorned with jewelry. The dimensions of this sarcophagus are 6 ft. by 2 ft. by i ft. 4 in.; it has no reliefs on the front but a simple pattern of pilasters and quatrefoils. Owing to its great size the figure of the lady was shaped in two halves, the See also:joint being below the hips. The Florence sarcophagus represents a lady of the name of Larthia Seianti. Roman Terracotta Work.—The uses of clay among the Romans were much the same as amongst the Greeks and Etruscans, in architecture and sculpture, as well as for other purposes; the See also:main differences were that in some cases its use was more extensive in Rome, in others less; and generally that the products of Roman workshops are inferior to those of earlier times. But the technical processes are in the main those previously employed. The Romans divided the manufacture of objects in clay into two classes: See also:opus figulinum for fine See also:ware made from argilla or creta figularis and opus doliare for tiles and common earthenware. Of their use of tiles and bricks in architecture this is not the place to speak, except for the ornamental architectural details which come strictly under the heading of terracotta. Ornamental -tiles followed much on the lines of those used in Greece, whether roof-tiles or antefixal ornaments, though the latter are both simpler and inferior in See also:design. Terracotta was largely used at See also:Pompeii for this purpose, and also for gutters and wellmouths. A characteristic feature of Pompeian houses is the trough-like See also:gutter which formed an ornamental cornice to the See also:compluvium or open skylight of the See also:atrium and See also:peristyle; these were adorned with spouts in the form of masks or animals' heads, through which the rain-water See also:fell from the gutters into the See also:impluvium. Some See also:good examples of roof-tiles and antefixal ornaments have also been found at See also:Ostia. Terracotta mural decoration was also largely employed by the Romans for the interior and exterior of their buildings; in the form of slabs ornamented with reliefs hung on the walls or round the cornices. See also:Cicero speaks of fixing the bas-reliefs (typos) " on the cornice of his little atrium." These slabs usually measure about 18 by 9 to 12 in., and have nearly all been found in Rome, though isolated examples occur in other places. There is a series of 160 in the British Museum (PI. II. fig. 6), whole or fragmentary—nearly all of which were collected at Rome by See also: The figures are mostly in low relief, grouped with large, flat surfaces between in the manner of contemporary Roman art; in some cases the whole groundwork is composed of patterns of See also:scroll-work or foliage, more or less conventionalized. The compositions consist either of narrow friezes with rows of Cupids or masks, or groups of two or three figures resembling temple-metopes. The style is in general bold and vigorous, and being essentially architectural it is not devoid of dignity and beauty. The known examples fall into two groups according to their treatment : (a) The naturalistic style, corresponding to the so-called Hellenistic
reliefs of Augustan art; (b) the conventional, not to say archaistic, corresponding to the classicist tendencies of another school of Augustan artists represented by the " New See also:Attic " reliefs. Both groups find See also:close See also:parallels in the metal-work and pottery of this period, to which date they may therefore be assigned.
The subjects cover a very wide See also: There are also references to signa fictilia placed on pediments of buildings such as the Capitoline temple. As noted in the previous section, during the greater part of the See also:Republic, Rome was indebted for these to Etruscan artists, but the style of the figures was probably more Greek than Etruscan. In 493 B.C. Gorgasus and Damophilus of See also:Himera in Sicily ornamented with terracotta reliefs and figures the temple of See also:Ceres (now See also:Santa Maria in Cosmedin). Towards the end of the Republic modellers in clay are mentioned, such as Possis, who imitated grapes and other See also:fruit, and the sculptor See also:Arcesilaus. But their work in this material appears to have been confined to models for sculpture or metal work, and the invasion of the masterpieces of Greek art and the general See also:adoption of marble by sculptors led to the neglect of terracotta as a See also:medium of the glyptic arts. Few statues of any size in-this material now exist, but there is an interesting series in the British Museum, found in a well near Porta See also:Latina at Rome in 1767, restored by Nollekens, and acquired by Charles See also:Towneley. Some terracotta figures of considerable size were found at Pompeii, having formed the cult-statues of a temple; others were employed for adorning gardens, like the series from Rome just mentioned. Terracotta figures were also employed as architectural members of the caryatid type. All these belong to the Augustan and succeeding period, or at least are not later than the reign of See also:Nero. Terracotta statuettes similar in style to those of Greece are also found in houses and tombs of the Roman period or as votive offerings on sacred sites. They were known to the Romans as Sigilla, and were used as presents, or placed in the lararia or domestic shrines. Some 200 were found in the poorer quarters of Pompeii, implying that they took the place of the marble and bronze figures which the wealthier inhabitants alone could afford. At the festival of Sigillaria, part of the See also:December Saturnalia, terracotta figures and masks were in great demand. Originally these were votive offerings to See also:Saturn, but later the See also:custom degenerated into that of giving them as presents to See also:friends or children, a practice indulged in by the Emperors See also:Hadrian and Caracalla. The makers of these figures were known as sigillarii or figuli sigillatores, and they lived in the Via Sigillaria. Their social position appears to have been very low; but it must be remembered that they were chiefly patronized by the poorer classes; probabiy many of them were slaves. The technical processes which they employed were practically those of the Greek craftsmen. Large figures were made from models (proplasniata) and built up on a wooden See also:frame-work known as crux or stipes; but the smaller ones were made from moulds. The range of subjects is much the same as in the 1 ter Greek terracottas. At Pompeii genre figures predominate, sucTi as See also:gladiators, athletes and slaves, and in general there is a preference for portraits and grotesques. On the whole these See also:late works have little artistic merit. Votive figures have been found at See also:Praeneste on the site of the temple of See also:Fortune, and also at Nemi and See also:Gabii. This See also:industry also extended from Rome to the provinces, and terracotta statuettes of local make have been found even in See also:Britain, as at Richborough, See also:Colchester and See also:London. In See also:Gaul in particular, and in the See also:Rhine See also:district, there were very extensive manufactures of terracottas after the See also:conquest of See also:Julius See also:Caesar in 58 B.C. They were made by local craftsmen for the Roman colonists, who introduced their own types of design. The principal centre of manufacture was the district of the See also:Allier in Central France. See also:Potteries have been found at See also:Moulins, as well as in other parts of France, in See also:Belgium and See also:Alsace, and along the Rhine. The figures found in the Allier district are made of a peculiar white clay, the technique resembling that of Roman work, but the modelling is heavy and often barbaric. Numerous moulds have also come to light which show that the figures were made in two pieces; on the exterior of these moulds the potters' names have frequently been scratched (to indicate ownership). Names appear on the figures as well as on the moulds, and many of these are of Gaulish origin. The commonest names are those of Pistillus of See also:Autun, Rextugenus, a potter of north-See also:west France, and Vindex of See also:Cologne. The subjects include divinities, genre figures, and animals; among the former the pre-eminent type is that of a Nature-Goddess, characterized either as See also:Venus Genetrix or as a Mother with a Child (Kovporpo¢os). Both in subject and in artistic character these statuettes appear to have been largely influenced by the Graeco-Egyptian art of See also:Alexandria during the Hellenistic period. They appear to have been used for domestic and funerary purposes and as votive offerings. After the downfall of the Roman See also:Empire in the west, the artistic use of terracotta was abandoned for many centuries, though, here and there, both in Italy and in the districts that had been once Roman provinces, decorated terracotta work was carried on sporadically both in parts of France and of See also:Germany. The true See also:renaissance of its use came during the 14th and 15th centuries, when it was adapted once more to architectural service in the See also:Gothic buildings of See also:northern Italy and of Germany. In Germany the See also:mark of See also:Brandenburg is especially See also:rich in buildings enriched with modelled terracotta. The See also: Maria in Ara Coeli, c. 13o0; the front of S. Cosimato in Trastevere, built c. 1490; and a once very magnificent house, near the Via di Tordinone, which See also:dates from the 14th century. With the revival of terracotta as an See also:adjunct to medieval architecture we find the sculptors of the See also:Italian renaissance turning to this material, as a medium for the See also:production of reliefs, busts, and even groups of many life-sized figures—again following the practice or classic times. Much of the Florentine terracottasculpture of the 15th century is among the most beautiful plastic work the See also:world has ever seen, especially that by Jacopo della Quercia, See also:Donatello, and the sculptors of the next See also:generation.' For life, spirit, and realistic truth, combined with sculpturesque breadth, these pieces are masterpieces of invention and manipulation. The portrait busts are perfect models of iconic sculpture. In some respects the use of burnt clay for sculpture has great advantages over that of marble; the soft clay is easily and rapidly moulded into form while the sculptor's thought is fresh in his mind, and thus works in terracotta often possess a spirit and vigour which can hardly be reproduced in laboriously finished marble. In the 16th century a more realistic style was introduced, and this was heightened by the custom of painting the figures in oil colours. Many very clever groups of this kind were produced by Ambrogio See also:Foppa (Caradosso) for S. Satiro at Milan and by Guido Mazzoni and Begarelli (1479–1565) for churches in See also:Modena. These terra-cotta sculptures are unpleasing in colour and far too pictorial in style; but those of Begarelli were enthusiastically admired by See also:Michelangelo. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] TERRACINA (Lat. Tarracina, Volsc. Anxur) |
[next] TERRAMARA (from Ital. terra mama, " marl ") |