Majapahit Terracotta - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Majapahit Terracotta is the terracotta art and craft dated from Majapahit era circa 13th to 15th century. Significant terracotta earthenwares artifacts from this period were discovered in Trowulan

Trowulan

Trowulan is a village in Mojokerto, in the Indonesian province of East Java. It is surrounded by an archaeological site covering approximately 100 square kilometres. It has been suggested it was the site of the eponymous capital city of the Majapahit Empire, which is described by Mpu Prapanca in...

, East Java

East Java

East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...

.

Over the years many terracotta sculptures and artifacts have been discovered as a result of agricultural activities, building roads etc. Some of these finds were brought together in the museum at Trowulan

Trowulan Museum

The Trowulan Museum is an archaeological museum located in Trowulan, Mojokerto, in East Java, Indonesia. The museum was built in order to house the artifacts and archaeological findings discovered around Trowulan and its vicinity...

before World War II, but in the subsequent years much of this collection has been lost. Post WW II many of the pieces has been unearthed as the result of digging for gold. After the crops have been harvested the farmers lease their land to diggers who dig pits panning the alluvial soil for gold. The terracottas are an incidental find, often bearing the mark of the digging implement.

Today, Trowulan Museum

Trowulan Museum

and National Museum of Indonesia

National Museum of Indonesia

The National Museum of Indonesia , is an archeological, historical, ethnological, and geographical museum located in Jakarta. Popularly known as Elephant Building after the elephant statue in its forecourt. Its broad and fascinating collections covers all of Indonesia's territory and almost all of...

host the large collections of Majapahit terracotta art.

Method

The word terracotta derives from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

word meaning burnt earth. Nowadays the word refers to all unglazed low-fired red earthenware clay objects. Much of the archeological studies of the area have focused on the reconstructions of the ruins. So far, in East Java

East Java

no kiln

Kiln

A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...

s have been found and most of the objects are relatively low fired, suggesting that the craftsmen worked by the earthenware method. They probably worked in a way similar to that being used today in Kasongan, near Yogyakarta and the one in Bali

Bali

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

, where the figurines are sun dried. Then rice husks and straw

Straw

Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...

s is heaped over them and set on fire, to attain a harder object the firing is repeated.

Containers

Many containers in various sizes and shapes were discovered in Trowulan. The containers probably used for various purposes, from water container to grain container. From large jar to box shaped water container. The typical kendi, a bulbous and tall neck water vessel with breast-like spout is originated from Majapahit period.

Heads

Many small heads are found in the surrounding environs. These range in size from 3 cm up to10cm. Many of these heads show Javanese features with hair style and ear ornementation. For the most part these heads are solid, but occasionally thin walled examples are found. It is postulated that the more heavily ornamented faces represent ladies belonging to the upper classes.

Figurines

Commonly the figurines are small, measuring and constructed by the coil and pinch methods with carved or incised decorations, a forming method that is sculptural. Other figurines are made by molding. Their variety of expression is infinite with naturalistic postures and expressions.

Animals

One of the famous Majapahit terracotta animal figure is Majapahit Piggy Bank

Piggy bank

Piggy bank is the traditional name of a coin accumulation and storage receptacle; it is most often, but not exclusively, used by children. The piggy bank is known to collectors as a "still bank" as opposed to the "mechanical banks" popular in the early 20th century. These items are also often used...

, discovered in Trowulan. Other animal figures also discovered, such as Nandi bull and elephant.

Reliefs

Carved bricks have been found in the area. These show scenes from daily life and depictions of religious or literary stories. The technique of construction are similar to the carved stone reliefs seen in the temples of central Java such as Borobudur

Borobudur

Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues...

. For the most part these bricks are single and in poor repair, but occasional sequences have been found. Frequently the figures in the panels are depicted in the East Java style, in which the body is full frontal, the face in the three quarter and the legs are in profile.

Other purposes

The people of Majapahit exploits terracotta earthenware method on producing various objects for their daily needs. Among wide ranges objects are; roof and floor tiles to terracotta water pipes. Several terracotta architectural miniature models and architecture ornaments also discovered.