Terra-Cotta
an Italian term for pottery pot or earthenware. The name is not ordinarily applied to pottery vessels with thin walls, but is confined to statues, wa walls, but is confined to statues, statuettes, bas-reliefs, and architectural members such as columns, cornices, friezes, consoles, and the like made of burnt clay. But the term is not necessarily confined to articles of a decorative character. The color of terra-cotta is either buff, yellow, or red, the former being the more common. Many masterpieces of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture are executed in this material, and a considerable number of works in burnt clay, by Italian artists who lived in the Middle Age and early Renaissance periods , are also exquisite productions. Architectural ornaments of a very effective kind were also executed in this material in ancient times.
Distinguished modern sculptors sometimes produce works in terra-cotta, and in recent years it has been increasingly employed, either partly or wholly, for the fronts and other portions of important buildings.