BISHNUPUR - A TOUR TO TRADITION OF TERRACOTTA AND TEMPLES



It will be difficult to cover all the arts and crafts of Bishnupur in a single article, so here we will try to focus on terracotta only.Terracotta is one of the basic crafts that human beings developed in the very early stage of civilization because of its easy availability and flexibility of the raw material which is clay. Terracotta has evolved from making daily need objects like basic potteries, toys, etc to a craft through which artists and artisans started telling stories. Talking about the terracotta of Bishnupur; like other Indian arts and crafts, it was about Hindu mythology, epics and other folk tales. Ev

What are the steps of making a terracotta art piece from raw clay?
- Collecting the right kind of clay for terracotta work is the very first step.
- Refining the raw clay is one of the most important parts of crafting terracotta which includes removing unwanted impurities and adding other materials which can affect the longevity, color and other important properties of the final works.
- Once the clay is ready for work, artists give the clay its desired shape and size. In this stage, artists often use mold and other tools.
- At the final stage, after molding to the appropriate shape, artists cook or bake them at a certain temperature for a certain time.