Terracotta Art

(Pic. of terracotta items on display and sale during the 19th I& C Fair, Agartala)

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(Source Wikipedia: Terracotta)

(Pic. of terra cotta utility items during an exhibition Dilli Haat)

Terra cotta utility items were the first to be used for cooking and other purposes, excavations from historical sites have revelled that. Whether its Harappa civilisation or mesopotamia pieces of terra cotta items have always been found, I've a small piece of terra cotta pottery from Harappa; I was thrilled when I collected it that was during a college trip to Pakistan. Everything abt the trip to Pakistan was memorable esp. the Harappa site visit, Takht-ti-bahi, Islamabad, NWFP, Lahore and the famous Kinnarid College.

Coming back to Terra cotta, my association with terra cotta utility items is since birth, my dad's village is a village of potters, in Manipur there are very few villages which does potery and my dad's village "Thongjao" located in Thoubal Dist. i one of the very few villages which does pottery. From ngari-kharung to flower pots almost everything they make, the potential for developing the village and the craft is there but sadly nothing much can be done looking at the current situation. Some NGO's have done intresting work with Terra Cotta I found one during the 19th I&C mela in Agartala, I bought some items the best were the spoon and knife holder for my kitchen simple yet elegant....