Abstract:

Art in handicraft has been regarded as timeless and dateless. Clay and terracotta figures have been existing continuously from pre-historic times. There have been an implicit continuity in the traditional knowledge and technology of making artefacts of clay by adding several materials and if required, firing the artefacts thus made. The fired clay was called burnt clay or terracotta. Clay as a base material for hand crafted item has been used all over India for several types of finished products. There has been a variety of materials added to the clay, techniques and equipments for making several forms and decorating these forms across the length and breadth of the country. The paper discusses the variety of the variety of the clay components, shaping and firing techniques used to create variety of forms.