TERRACOTTA ART OF ASSAM

Terracotta as a medium of art of handicraft has been handed down generation after generation without a break.  The traditions of this art is being going on from ages and still continuing. An object of art made of a composition of clay and sand and baked with earthen color, a brownish red, is Terracotta. It was once considered to be the poor men’s craft but with it has marked significant image among all classes of people.

The kumara and Hiras are two traditional potter communities of Assam and while the Kumars use the wheel to produce his pots, the Hiras are probably the only potters in the world who do not use the wheel at all. Again, among the Hiras , only the womenfolk are engaged in pottery work.

Today the artwork is not limited to smaller group of people; it has been spread over where different styles of creativity are created. Starting from various common figures of gods and goddesses to mythological figures, earthen pots and lamps etc. also modern decorative has found a new life like vases, toys etc. in a modern way.