Terra Cotta

Encyclopedia : T : TE : TER : Terra Cotta

Sculpture of Hanuman in terra cotta.

Glazed building decoration at the Forbidden City, Beijing, China

The Bell Edison Telephone Building, Birmingham, England

Terra cotta (Italian: "baked earth") is a waterproof ceramic. Its uses include pottery vessels, older wastewater drains, and as 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.

Contents

1 History
2 Users
3 Advantages in sculpture
4 See also
5 External links
6 See also

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 Terracotta Army of China, built in 210–209 BC. 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. Terracotta and tile were used extensively in the town buildings of Victorian Birmingham, England.

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.

External links

[Article on terracotta in Victorian and Edwardian Terracotta Buildings]


— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#E2725B
RGB^B	r, g, b)	(226, 114, 91)
CMYK^H	c, m, y, k)	(0, 44, 53, 11)
HSV	h, s, v)	(10°, 70%, 62%)
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred)

— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet #CC4E5C
RGB^B r, g, b) (204, 78, 92)
CMYK^H c, m, y, k) (0, 49, 44, 20)
HSV h, s, v) (354°, 55%, 55%)
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred)


Alizarin	Burgundy	Cardinal	Carmine	Cerise	Chestnut	Crimson	Falu red	Fuchsia	Magenta	Maroon	Mauve

Red	Red-violet	Rust	Puce	Sangria	Scarlet	Terra cotta	Vermilion