Page:EB1911 - Volume 26.djvu/685

 Use in Architecture.—In architecture terracotta was extensively employed for roof tiles and other decorative details, as has been shown by many recent discoveries, especially at Olympia. In the Heraion we have the oldest example of a terracotta roof. A 6th-century temple at Thermon in Acarnania is also constructed of wood and terracotta, with painted terracotta slabs in wooden frames for metopes. The generic term for a roof tile was, and these are classified as fiat square tiles ( or ¢rw)F;1/es) and semi-cylindrical covering tiles (/<a.)u1r'r'i'1pes). Other varieties of ornamental tiles used in buildings are (1) the covering slabs along the raking-cornice (fyeioov) of the pediment; (2) the Kvpdrlov or cornice above the 'yeifaoi/; (3) the cornice along the sides with lions' head spouts to carry off rain-water; (4) the dxpwrfyptu or antefixal ornaments surmounting the side-tiles. These latter varieties were usually enriched with decoration in colour, the lcv/.uinov being painted with elaborate patterns of lotosand-honeysuckle or Greek key-pattern, in red, blue, brown and yellow, curvilinear patterns being restricted to curved, rectilinear to flat surfaces. The antefixal ornaments were usually modelled in the form of an anthemion or palmette, but were sometimes adorned with reliefs or sculptured groups, as in the case of the temple of Zeus at Olympia, which has figures of Victory along the cornice. The British Museum has an interesting series of 6th-century date from Capua, with gorgons’ heads, female busts, and other subjects in relief, and others come from an early 5th-century temple at Civita Lavinia. Many coloured roof tiles have been found at Olympia.

In Sicily and southern Italy a fashion prevailed of nailing slabs of terracotta over the surface of the stonework (a legacy from the epoch of wooden buildings which required protection from the weather). These were ornamented with lotos-and-honeysuckle and other patterns, sometimes in relief but always richly coloured. They occur at Olympia in the Treasury of Gela, by a Sicilian architect, and also in a temple at Selinus. The best example of this practice is the temple at Civita Lavinia already cited, the remains of which belong partly to the 6th, partly to the 4th century

Sculpture.—The subject of Greek sculpture in terracotta is a large one, and only its brief outlines can be given here. Of large or life-size statues comparatively few examples are known, and they can only be said to be common in Cyprus, where marble was difficult to procure; they are also more frequent in Italy, as will be seen later. But the use of clay for the reproduction of the human ngure was one of the earliest instincts of the race, and may be traced back as far as archaeological records exist, to the days of the Minoan and Aegean supremacies. Terracotta figures of a very primitive character have been found in Crete, in Melos and at Olympia, and one series of figures from Petsofa in Crete is remarkable for the very modern fashions of head-dress and costumes. Terracotta figures of more advanced style have also been found in Rhodes and other places dating from the Mycenaean period.

Greek traditions on the subject go back to one Butades of Sikyon, a potter who was credited with the invention of modelling clay in relief; and the Samian sculptors Theodorus and Rhoikos, who lived about the end of the 7th century , were said to have been the first to use clay models for statues. As they were supposed to have introduced hollow casting in bronze, it was obviously for this purpose that they employed clay. But this material was later superseded by wax, and for marble statues was not used until Roman times.

The small terracotta figures used as ornaments or household gods, buried in tombs or dedicated in temples, trace their pedigree from the prehistoric examples already mentioned. They have been found in large numbers on nearly all the well known sites of antiquity, the most fruitful being Tanagra in Boeotia, Myrina in Asia Minor, Rhodes, the Cyrenaica, Athens, Sicily, and some of the towns of southern Italy. They are also found in Cyprus and Sardinia, where, as to some extent in Rhodes, they follow a peculiar development, under the domination of Phoenician influence, and many of the earlier types have a markedly oriental character. But in the Greek terracotta we may trace a steady development from the primitive types which correspond to the Eéax/a of primitive Greek religion, and for the most part represent actual deities, down to the purely genre ngures of Tanagra and other Hellenistic products of highly-developed beauty. For beauty and charm the palm has by general consent been given to the Tanagra figures of the 4th and 3rd centuries which were known in antiquity as or “maidens,” from the presence of seated or standing types of girls in various attitudes. The makers of these figures were known as xopowhdorat or xopo1r}d¢ro1., and are spoken of in literature, together with their wares, with some contempt.

Manufacture.—The processes employed in the manufacture of terracotta are five in number: (1) the preparation of the clay; (2) moulding; (3) retouching; (4) baking; and (5) colouring and gilding. The last named, though not essential, was almost universal in some form or another.

The clay used for the statuettes varies greatly in different localities, and this is an important criterion for distinguish in the different sites of manufacture. It ran es in colour from a deep red (as in the brick-like terracotta of lsaukratis) to a pale buff or drab as in Cyprus, and the fired product is generally softer than that oi the painted vases. It was prepared by washing the local clay free from all granular substances and then kneading it with the aid of water. The modelling was done by hand in the case of the earlier figures, and small objects such as toys and dolls, which are solid; the clay was worked up into a mass with the fingers, the marks of which may often be seen. Subsequently the use of moulds became universal, the final touches being given to the figure either with the fingers or with a graving tool. The finer statuettes, such as those of Tanagra, are invariably moulded, and the better exam les show traces of very careful retouching. The advantage of moulding was that the “ walls " of the fi ure could be reduced to a very regular thickness, obviating the zfanger of shrinkage in the baking; it also rendered them very light, and 'permitted great accuracy in detail. A model (7l'p6TU1l'0S) was first made in terracotta with modelling tools, from which the mould (-rvhros) was taken, also in terracotta and usually in two pieces, which were/then baked to a considerable hardness. From this mould the figure was made by smearing it with layers of clay until a sufficient thickness was reached, leaving the figure hollow. The back was made separately, either from a mould or by hand, and then fitted carefully to the front, the seam or join being run up with soft clay. The base was usually left open, and a vent hole was left in the back, which aided the clay to dry and to be re-fired without cracking, and was also used sometimes for suspending the figure when finished. The heads and arms were usually moulded separately, and attached or luted to the body with soft clay. Greek moulds for statuettes are somewhat rare, but there are examples known from Kertch, Smyrna, Girgenti and Tarentum; the British Museum has a series from the last named site (Pl. I. fig. 3). Most of these are for small figures only.

The shrinkage of the clay as it dried permitted the figure to be drawn easily from the mould, and the reproduction was then ready for retouching. It is obvious, from a glance at any collection of terracotta, that there is a great similarity between the various examples of any one type, and that many are virtually, if not actually, replicas of one another. This of course was due to the fact that only a limited number of moulds were used, correspond in to the various types. The minute differences between them, which constitute the charming variety found amongst these figures, and prevent monotony even where the type is constant, were obtained by the process of retouching, as well as by varying the pose of the head or limbs, or by differences of attributes and colourings. Actual retouching by a skilled modeller is seldom found except in the finer examples.

The process of baking required great care and attention, for if no allowance were made for the evaporation of moisture, or if too great a degree of temperature were reached, the result was disastrous. The clay was ensured against dr ing too rapidly by preliminary exposure to air and sunshine, while the temperature employed in firing was low even lower than that used for painted vases.

The colouring of the baked statuettes was fairly universal, the chief exceptions being some of the more archaic examples, and many of the Roman period. The surface on which the colours was laid was formed by a white slip or engobe of a creamy colour and consistency, with which the, whole front of the figure was coated. This when dry became very flaky and has often fallen off, carrying the colours with it, though most statuettes retain at least traces of this treatment with slip. It is very unlikely that this slip-coating was fired at all. On the white slip-facing opaque