Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta[2] (Italian:[ˌtɛrraˈkɔtta]; lit.'baked earth';[3] from Latin terra cocta 'cooked earth'),[4] is a clay-based non-vitreousceramic[5] fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware objects of certain types, as set out below.[5][6]
In archaeology and art history, "terracotta" is often used to describe objects such as figurines and loom weights not made on a potter's wheel, with vessels and other objects made on a wheel from the same material referred to as earthenware; the choice of term depends on the type of object rather than the material or shaping technique.[8]
Glazed architectural terracotta and its unglazed version as exterior surfaces for buildings were used in East Asia for centuries before becoming popular in the West in the 19th century. Architectural terracotta can also refer to decorated ceramic elements such as antefixes and revetments, which had a large impact on the appearance of temples and other buildings in the classical architecture of Europe, as well as in the Ancient Near East.[10]
This article covers the senses of terracotta as a medium in sculpture, as in the Terracotta Army and Greek terracotta figurines, and architectural decoration. East Asian and European sculpture in porcelain is not covered.
^Bust of the Virgin, ca. 1390–95, In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2008)
^"Terracotta", p. 341, Delahunty, Andrew, From Bonbon to Cha-cha: Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases, 2008, OUP Oxford, ISBN0199543690, 9780199543694; book