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Bankura Pottery:
The principal centres where the terracotta horses and elephants are produced
are Panchmura, Rajagarm, Sonamukhi and Hamirpur. Each of these four centres has
its local style. Bankura horse is very popular. The Bankura pottery is mainly
used for ritualistic purposes. The rituals are almost all exclusively associated
with local village gods and folk-festivals in the worship of various kinds of
tribal, semi-tribal and folk deities. The Panchmura-style of pottery is the best and the finest of all the four
types. The symmetry of shape, the rhythm of the rounded curves of the body, especially
of the horse, have lent a dignity and charm to it's form which is incomparable. Simplicity and dynamism are the chief components of
Panchmura-style. It is more sophisticated than the other three types-Rajagram, Sonamukhi and Kamirpur types are a little less sophisticated and
more massive. In Jhargram and Gopiballavpur areas in Midnapore district, within
the tribal belt, the terracotta horses assume a crude near-primitive form and
are fully hand modeled.
Tools:
The tools used for making Bankura Pottery are Ucha which is a semi circular
piece pf bamboo used for surface finishing, Balya which is a stone tool of about 3.5 " (inches) by 3 " used as a beater of the inner surface of a pot, Pitna
which is a wooden beater of about 10 " by 4 " used for beating and
shaping the outer surface of the pot or Chiari made of bamboo of about 4.5 " by .5 " used for
decorating clay figures. Other than these tools, there are potters wheels and
kilns for firing. The kilns are generally of circular or parabolic (Kula-type or
bamboo fan shaped) with enclosures on all sides with a permanent stoke-hole. It
is locally known as Sheuna Poan and the circular type is known as Berasal Poan.
Process:
The terracotta horses and elephants are turned out in separate parts, on the
wheel. The four legs, the full neck in two parts and the face (seven pieces in
all) are turned out separately on the wheel for the horse and then joined up by
hand. Similar process is applied to the elephant also. After the parts are
joined up by hand, the figures of horses and elephants take shape. By Ucha and
Chiari the figures are scraped and made even. Additional clay is used for making
up defects in the body and giving it the right shape and form. The figures are
then allowed to dry in the sun. The leaf-like ears and the tails are done in
moulds and are later inserted in grooves left on the body. After a little drying
in the sun, holes are made on appropriate parts of the body. This
is done before full drying, otherwise the inner and the outer surface of the
body will not be equally dry. Cracks may develop in the body for unequal drying
of the inner and the outer portions. The dehydration is slowly done in the
normal temperature of a closed room for about six or seven days. Then they are
brought out of the room and heated in the sun. On the figures thus heated the
colour coats are given and the main work of coloring is done before firing in
the kiln. The whole work of coloring is done by women from natural colours
prepared from clay.
The natural earths (clay) are generally of three types.(1) Khadigad, looks
white like chalk (2) Bhalogad, looks yellowish, glazy and oily and (3) Banak,
looks brownish, oily and glazy. These earths produced from natural
resources, are powdered and dissolved in water. The ingredients are placed in
earthen vessels for about two or three months, while testing the water and
sifting the sediment of sand from time to time. The residual portion is
thickened into pigment under sun and preserved for coloring. The three kinds of
pigments, khadigad, Bhalogad and Banak are mixed with water and applied one
after another on the pot and animal figures. Firing is done after coloring.
The terracotta horses and elephants of Bankura are turned out in two
different shapes. The normal terracotta red color is obtained by letting out the
smoke through the vents of the kiln after firing, and the black color, by sealing
the vents and not letting out the smoke.
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