Rob Van Rens on fri 12 sep 03
Karen;
Terra Cotta is not Latin, it's late-medieval Italian...the closest literal
translation is "cooked earth". Before we get into some of the more creative
etymologies, please take my word for it; I've checked appropriate references
for both).
in contemporary usage, it refers to a reddish, iron-bearing earthenware
(low-fire) claybody, generally fairly utilitarian - flower pots, garden
sculpture, some cookware and tableware, etc. There are a multitude of
other uses as well (disclaimer so I needn't duck and cover), but the gist of
it in its traditional usage was that it was ordinary, instead of precious
like porcelain.
hope this offers some insight. And be very very glad that you were able to
escape the scourge of Dead Languages...my wife still has nightmares about
her Latin professor, known to his students and "The Prince of Darkness", or
more simply as "Puddin'".
Rob Van Rens
Frederick Clay Art Center
5400 Yukon Ct, Unit 500
Frederick, MD 21758
(301) 676-9339
----- Original Message -----
From: "karen lovenguth nunez"
To:
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 12:50 PM
Subject: terra cotta and its meaning
Hi all,
I am wanting to use the term "terra cotta" in an invitacion to my
exhibition but want to be sure that is what I do. I have looked up the
latin and terra is clay or earth and cotta is everyday or the quotidien.
Every day earth?
Doesnīt that mean that all ceramist use terra cotta? Why isnīt porcelan
considered terra cotta or is it in a broad sense?
How do we as ceramists use the term today? Sorry folks I didnīt ever get to
take latin. Any wisdom on the subject would be much obliged,
Karen
____________________________________________________________________________
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karen lovenguth nunez on fri 12 sep 03
Hi all,
I am wanting to use the term "terra cotta" in an invitacion to =
my exhibition but want to be sure that is what I do. I have looked up =
the latin and terra is clay or earth and cotta is everyday or the =
quotidien. Every day earth?=20
Doesn=B4t that mean that all ceramist use terra cotta? Why isn=B4t =
porcelan considered terra cotta or is it in a broad sense?
How do we as ceramists use the term today? Sorry folks I didn=B4t ever =
get to take latin. Any wisdom on the subject would be much obliged,=20
Karen
John K Dellow on sat 13 sep 03
My understanding is that the loose translation is "red earth ". So you=20
cannot have a white red earth :)
My pet hobby horse is the use of the term terra sigillata used for=20
colloidal slips made from white clay.
Again you white red earth does not make sense to me.
John
karen lovenguth nunez wrote:
>Hi all,
> I am wanting to use the term "terra cotta" in an invitacion to =
my exhibition but want to be sure that is what I do. I have looked up th=
e latin and terra is clay or earth and cotta is everyday or the quotidien=
. Every day earth?=20
>Doesn=B4t that mean that all ceramist use terra cotta? Why isn=B4t porce=
lan considered terra cotta or is it in a broad sense?
>How do we as ceramists use the term today? Sorry folks I didn=B4t ever g=
et to take latin. Any wisdom on the subject would be much obliged,=20
>Karen
>
>
>
> =20
>
--=20
John Dellow "the flower pot man"
Home Page http://www.welcome.to/jkdellow
http://digitalfire.com/education/people/dellow/
Janet Kaiser on sat 13 sep 03
Karen, I don't know what dictionaries you are using, but terra
cotta literally means "cooked earth". Potters mean a low-fired,
red clay when they refer to terra cotta. It is really a reddish
brown. It is quite different to porcelain, which (in English)
refers to a specific type of high-fired clay usually white in
colour (or occasionally a dirty white or cream colour).
Do you buy clay? What does your supplier call it? Sometimes the
details you need are printed on the bag in several languages,
especially if it is imported.
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser
*** IN REPLY TO THE FOLLOWING MAIL:
>I am wanting to use the term "terra cotta" in an invitacion to
my
>exhibition but want to be sure that is what I do. I have looked
up the
>latin and terra is clay or earth and cotta is everyday or the
quotidien.
*** THE MAIL FROM karen lovenguth nunez ENDS HERE ***
***********************************************************
The top posted mail was sent by Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art : Capel Celfyddyd
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth : Wales : UK
Centre of Excellence for The Arts
Home of The International Potters' Path
Tel: ++44 (01766) 523570 http://www.the-coa.org.uk
Open: 13.00 to 17.00hrs : Tuesday to Saturday
************** AVG Virus Protected ********************
Malcolm Schosha on sat 13 sep 03
Karen,
Terra cotta, in Italian means "cooked earth". Italian has a word for
clay, creta. But I have never heard an Italian potter call it clay,
they call it earth. Only sculptors use the word clay.
I have never found an explination. Language just is not logical. In
Italy also, terra cotta (fired earth) is used only for the low fired
product. If it is low fired white, they call it terra bianca (white
earth), although it too has a specific name which is seldom used.
Stoneware, however is gres (probabily from a French word).
The clays used by potters in Italy are usually right out of the
ground. The the only thing done to the terra cotta clay used by the
potters in Sesto Firentino is to put it through a filter press, pug
it, and put into fifty pound bags. It would be very rare to find a
stoneware clay that can be used in this way, they are all formulated
clay bodies. Porcelan, although made from materials found in the
earth, needs to be very carefully formulated. So perhaps the
distinctions reflect this difference.
Malcolm
.............................................
--- In clayart@yahoogroups.com, karen lovenguth nunez
wrote:
> Hi all,
> I am wanting to use the term "terra cotta" in an
invitacion to my exhibition but want to be sure that is what I do. I
have looked up the latin and terra is clay or earth and cotta is
everyday or the quotidien. Every day earth?
> Doesn=B4t that mean that all ceramist use terra cotta? Why isn=B4t
porcelan considered terra cotta or is it in a broad sense?
> How do we as ceramists use the term today? Sorry folks I didn=B4t
ever get to take latin. Any wisdom on the subject would be much
obliged,
> Karen
>
>
______________________________________________________________________
________
> Send postings to clayart@l...
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@p...
Edouard Bastarache on sat 13 sep 03
Hello all,
"Terra Cotta is not Latin, it's late-medieval Italian...the closest literal
translation is "cooked earth".
if you go to http://www.dinoclay.com/info/dict/index.html
and searched the italian version of The Multilingual Dictionary
of Pottery Words you will see that "cotto/cotta" is still in use
in modern Italian.
Later,
"Ils sont fous ces Quebecois"
Edouard Bastarache
Irreductible Quebecois
Indomitable Quebeker
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
http://sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
.
May Luk on sat 13 sep 03
Hiya;
From dictionary.com:-
ter=B7ra cot=B7ta or ter=B7ra=B7cot=B7ta or ter=B7ra-cot=B7ta =A0=A0 (=A0P=A0)=A0=A0Pronunciation
Key=A0=A0(tr-kt)
n.=20
1. =20
a. A hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building
construction.
b. Ceramic wares made of this material.
2. A brownish orange.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Italian =A0: terra, earth (from Latin terra. See terrace) + cotta, baked,
cooked (from Latin cocta, feminine past participle of coquere, to cook. See
pekw- in Indo-European Roots).]
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
In the italian dictionary, terracotta is earthenware.
Best Regards
May
Rob Van Rens on sat 13 sep 03
Edouard,
As may be. I unfortunately don't speak Italian, nor do I have a modern
Italian dictionary. But I do have a Dumabrton Oaks Medieval Italian
reference, plus a lot of time spent studying REAL history...you know, the
stuff that happened before Columbus. Anything after 1492 is current events,
and therefore not really history...
According to my Medieval History degree from U of Wisconsin, I'm so smart
I'm unemployable...
Rob Van Rens
Frederick Clay Art Center
5400 Yukon Ct, Unit 500
Frederick, MD 21758
(301) 676-9339
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edouard Bastarache"
To:
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2003 9:01 AM
Subject: Re: terra cotta and its meaning
> Hello all,
>
> "Terra Cotta is not Latin, it's late-medieval Italian...the closest
literal
> translation is "cooked earth".
>
> if you go to http://www.dinoclay.com/info/dict/index.html
> and searched the italian version of The Multilingual Dictionary
> of Pottery Words you will see that "cotto/cotta" is still in use
> in modern Italian.
>
>
> Later,
>
>
>
> "Ils sont fous ces Quebecois"
> Edouard Bastarache
> Irreductible Quebecois
> Indomitable Quebeker
> Sorel-Tracy
> Quebec
> edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
> http://sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/
> http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
>
> .
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Edouard Bastarache on sat 13 sep 03
Rob,
well, up here history starts when
Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608.
Heheheheh !!!
Or when my Basque ancestors came to fish cod
on the "Grands Bancs" of Newfieland, way before
Samuel came over.
Later,
----- Original Message -----
From: Rob Van Rens
To:
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2003 6:39 PM
Subject: Re: terra cotta and its meaning
> Edouard,
>
> As may be. I unfortunately don't speak Italian, nor do I have a modern
> Italian dictionary. But I do have a Dumabrton Oaks Medieval Italian
> reference, plus a lot of time spent studying REAL history...you know, the
> stuff that happened before Columbus. Anything after 1492 is current
events,
> and therefore not really history...
>
> According to my Medieval History degree from U of Wisconsin, I'm so smart
> I'm unemployable...
>
> Rob Van Rens
>
> Frederick Clay Art Center
> 5400 Yukon Ct, Unit 500
> Frederick, MD 21758
>
> (301) 676-9339
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Edouard Bastarache"
> To:
> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2003 9:01 AM
> Subject: Re: terra cotta and its meaning
>
>
> > Hello all,
> >
> > "Terra Cotta is not Latin, it's late-medieval Italian...the closest
> literal
> > translation is "cooked earth".
> >
> > if you go to http://www.dinoclay.com/info/dict/index.html
> > and search the italian version of The Multilingual Dictionary
> > of Pottery Words you will see that "cotto/cotta" is still in use
> > in modern Italian.
> >
> >
> > Later,
> >
> >
> >
> > "Ils sont fous ces Quebecois"
> > Edouard Bastarache
> > Irreductible Quebecois
> > Indomitable Quebeker
> > Sorel-Tracy
> > Quebec
> > edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
> > http://sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/
> > http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
> >
> > .
> >
> >
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
> >
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
iandol on sun 14 sep 03
Dear John K Dellow,=20
Interesting, "Sigillatus"....Decorated with Little Figures !!!
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, S. Australia
piedpotterhamelin@COMCAST.NET on sun 14 sep 03
To me,Terra cotta is specifically a mid-range coarse clay body that is
sculpted or molded and fired. Depending on your American location, the clay
could be yellow, white, brown, red or orange when fired. The surface could be
left unglazed or glazed in a variety of colors. It was a product of industry.
Low fire terra cotta is a term applied to a coarse earthenware body. Bernard
Charles states that this is literally "burnt earth" but "low fired, porous
earthenware, not necessarily red clay as always assumed". This defines the
sculptural items and functional pots. These would be soft and porous.
Rhodes equated Terra cotta with a a low grade open fireclay. Cardew describes
terra cotta as fired to 1742 deg. F but I believe that this applies to the
previous description. I argue that firing temps were more towards 2000 deg
for the architectural motifs. These items would be "hard fired" and of low
porosity; made to withstand the elements.
Wedgwood made terra cotta architectural work in 1851.
But the red-orange Terra Cotta is also a color swatch found in textiles,
graphics and paints.
The current use of the term is vague and is not consistent to the historical
and cultural variations of the material. Seldom do the commercial "terra
cotta" clay bodies resemble those archealogically discovered terra cotta wares
or the hardness of the architectural ornaments. The suppliers simply are
referring to the raw or fired red-orange color. (By the way, while Attic Ware
is of red clay, to some, terra cotta in color, unglazed and low fired, I would
never call it terra cotta because of the refined qualities of the clay}.
The contemporary use of terra cotta in descriptions is as varied and undefined
and at times inappropiate which allows for ignorance and confusion.
Try a google search on Terra Cotta for more information.
Rick Hamelin
Snail Scott on sun 14 sep 03
At 11:50 AM 9/12/03 -0500, you wrote:
>...I have looked up the latin and terra is clay or earth and cotta is
everyday or the quotidien. Every day earth?=20
>Doesn=B4t that mean that all ceramist use terra cotta?=20
First: 'cotta' in this usage actually means 'baked'.
So, in the strictest descriptive sense, yes, all ceramic=20
clay could be described as 'terra cotta', IF we spoke=20
Italian. But we are speaking English, and in English,=20
terra cotta generally means a red or buff earthenware.
(White earthenware is not usually considered terra cotta,=20
I think simply because natural low-fire white clays are=20
fairly rare, and thus seldom seen in prior days when the=20
term was acquiring its present meaning.) The exact=20
definition is fuzzy, though, (like that of 'red' or=20
'earthenware', for that matter) so it may be left to your=20
show's juror(s) to arrive at a meaning that suits their=20
intent.
Don't be overly influenced by etymology. It can be=20
fascinating to see the origins of a word or phrase, but=20
meanings change, often radically, from a word's point of=20
origin. Etymology does NOT define current meaning or=20
usage, so don't read too much into it.
-Snail
Steve Mills on sun 14 sep 03
My understanding is Terracotta means *Fired Earth*, but I could be
wrong.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , karen lovenguth nunez writes
>Hi all,
> I am wanting to use the term "terra cotta" in an invitacion to =3D
>my exhibition but want to be sure that is what I do. I have looked up =3D
>the latin and terra is clay or earth and cotta is everyday or the =3D
>quotidien. Every day earth?=3D20
>Doesn=3DB4t that mean that all ceramist use terra cotta? Why isn=3DB4t =3D
>porcelan considered terra cotta or is it in a broad sense?
>How do we as ceramists use the term today? Sorry folks I didn=3DB4t ever =
>=3D
>get to take latin. Any wisdom on the subject would be much obliged,=3D20
>Karen
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
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