Terracotta horse
Figure
c.1944 (Made)
c.1944 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The most well-known type of ritual pottery from India is the Bankura clay horse, which along with other animal forms like elephants and tigers are bought by villagers, as offerings to the forest gods for protection against wild animals.
However, the once dense forests and numerous wild animals of Bankura have practically disappeared, and this type of ritual offering is no longer widespread.
Today the clay horse is a popular art object in its own right and has been adopted as the motif for the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, the central marketing body of Indian handicrafts set up by the Government of India.
However, the once dense forests and numerous wild animals of Bankura have practically disappeared, and this type of ritual offering is no longer widespread.
Today the clay horse is a popular art object in its own right and has been adopted as the motif for the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, the central marketing body of Indian handicrafts set up by the Government of India.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Terracotta horse (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Red slipped terracotta |
| Brief description | Painted terracotta horse, Bankura district, India, c.1944 |
| Physical description | Partially hand-modelled figure of a horse with some incised details, such as the mane. Pellets have been applied for the eyes. The figure is hollow and has openings in the mouth, hooves and rear. Red pigment has been applied on all areas except the head. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by J C Irwin |
| Object history | Received as a gift in 1952 from J.C. Irwin. |
| Production | West Bengal |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The most well-known type of ritual pottery from India is the Bankura clay horse, which along with other animal forms like elephants and tigers are bought by villagers, as offerings to the forest gods for protection against wild animals. However, the once dense forests and numerous wild animals of Bankura have practically disappeared, and this type of ritual offering is no longer widespread. Today the clay horse is a popular art object in its own right and has been adopted as the motif for the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, the central marketing body of Indian handicrafts set up by the Government of India. |
| Bibliographic reference | Arts of Bengal : the heritage of Bangladesh and eastern India : an exhibition organized by the Whitechapel Art Gallery in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum : 9 November-30 December 1979, Whitechapel Art Gallery ..., 12 January-17 February 1980, Manchester City Art Gallery ... . [London]: Whitechapel Art Gallery, [1979] Number: 085488047X (pbk.) :
p.60 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.105-1952 |
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| Record created | November 19, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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