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Terra-cotta: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As terracotta

Photos

A group of terra-cotta pots in various shapes and sizes are arranged closely together, showing their reddish-brown clay surfaces and decorative details.
Qin tomb
Virgin and Child
Ch'ang O, terra-cotta statuette; in the Musée Guimet, Paris
Qin tomb: terra-cotta statues
Nok head
terra-cotta oinochoe
Rows of traditional earthenware terracotta clay pots and vessels with etched patterns are displayed on metal shelves, made by artists in Cyprus.
“Virgin and Child,” polychromed and gilded terra-cotta relief by Andrea del Verrocchio, c. 1470; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
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Key People

Andrea del Verrocchio: David
Andrea del Verrocchio
Italian painter and sculptor
“Black Sun,” black tamba granite sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, 1960–63; in a private garden
Isamu Noguchi
American sculptor
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Louise Nevelson
American sculptor
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Luca della Robbia
Florentine sculptor
Martini, Arturo: Judith and Holofernes
Arturo Martini
Italian sculptor
Despiau, Charles: portrait bust of Madame Stone
Charles Despiau
French sculptor
Clodion: Cupid and Psyche
Clodion
French sculptor
Tomb of St. Dominic, detail of a sculpture by Niccolò dell'Arca; in the church of San Domenico, Bologna, Italy.
Niccolò dell’Arca
Italian sculptor
Westerkerk, Amsterdam, by Hendrick de Keyser, 1620–38
Hendrick de Keyser
Dutch sculptor
Frank Dobson working on a sculpture of British actress Margaret Rawlings.
Frank Dobson
British sculptor