Clay has been one of the most important raw materials ever since the Neolithic Period. It can be found in many places, it is easy to process and it becomes durable when fired. When painted, the works of art attain additional appeal. Humans began to model figures using clay even before they produced pottery. Today we call these terracottas, derived from the Italian terra cotta - baked earth.
Clay figures provide important information as to how we picture everyday reality in ancient times. For the spectrum of subjects covered by the reasonably priced terracottas was much wider than that of the large-scale sculptures or small-scale figurines made of expensive bronze.
The special exhibition "The Ancient World in Clay" in the Pompejanum in Aschaffenburg has almost a hundred terracottas from the Munich State Collections of Antiquities on display. These convey a lively impression of the development of this popular and diverse art form over a period of more than a thousand years.
An illustrated brochure will accompany the special exhibition.
For further information on guided tours through the Pompejanum see → here.
