Terracotta (Art History)

It has been years since the first emperor of China’s death. But, apart from being the first emperor of China, he would have been forgotten if it wasn’t for the hidden legacy he left behind. Now unearthed, his legacy is now for the entire world to bear witness to his vast army of Terracotta Warriors. An army made out of the very earth they were encased in, they remain standing for the emperor, even in death. But perhaps they stand for a reason? Perhaps they stand for a cause? Men of Clay; an Exploration of the Terracotta Army, explores the mystery behind the resurfaced Terracotta Army and its science and significance.

The human being naturally lives in groups from the ancient period. Ancient people expressed their success or victory in hunting or self-defending through various gestures, shouting, and making sound using available materials like stone, tree branches, and many other things. Proofs of such incidents are seen in ancient cave art. These types of sound and gesture making during ancient people’s success time have gradually been turned into music and dance, through day by day addition and improvement. In ancient Bengali literature and archaeological sites, music and dance are found to be presented as parts of both religious deeds and entertainment.
Like many other parts of the sub-continent, the practice of dance and music has been prevailing from ancient times in Bengali Society and culture. Many ancient writers have mentioned about music & musical drama in their works; such as Charyapada, Potonjalis Mahabhasya, Kamasutra of Batsayana, Natyasastra, accounts of various Chinese travelers, etc. These books show that music and dance were parts of religious practices and social carnivals of ancient Bengal. Besides the literature works, there are archaeological proofs of such use of music and dance. Terracotta plaques is an example of such a phenomenon. Terracotta plaques generally used for decorating the exterior part of religious architecture in ancient Bengal. A variety of religious and social myths, deities, a mixture of aspects of social and cultural proceedings of human society, animal, etc. has been depicted in these terracotta plaques. Among them, terracotta’s contain music-dance-musical instruments are the basis of this study. This research tends to cover such terracotta plaques discovered from ancient to pre-medieval age archaeological sites of Bengal.
After studying about four thousand plaques from the mentioned period, music, dance and musical instruments have been discussed as important parts of ancient Bengal’s society and culture. The pose of hand and foot and physical movement of dancers which is depicted in these plaques are from basic gestures of Bharatnatyam and traditional Odissi dance. These gestures are similar to the 108 numbers of dance gestures described in “Natyashastra”. These plaques can prove that classical dance was practiced in ancient Bengal and there was South Indian influence in that.
Besides, plaques from Somapura Vihara and Mainamati prove the popularity of “War Dance” in that time as numbers of plaques are found with such engravings. Such war dance gestures of armed soldiers resemble with moves of the “Mayurbhanja Chou” dance of Odisha.
Not only the dance depictions but plaques also carvings of a marriage ceremony, harvesting festivals celebrated with music and dance. Moreover,  various musical instruments are found in some terracotta plaques named bina (kind of flute), madal (kind of drum), dhak (kind of semi-large drum) dholok (kind of small drum), kettle drum, cydel, tambruni, etc. are mentioned. From archaeological sites of Bengal, representation of both male and female playing musical instruments is seen in terracotta plaques. However, most of the instrument players are male in these plaques.
Examples of music in ancient Bengal are available in ancient literary works, but the theme is rare in terracotta plaques or stone sculpture. It is to mention that some plaques from Somapura Vihara hold a depiction of musical performance, possibly, which can consider as the most ancient example of the music practice of Bengal. So it can be said that these representations of diverse dance, music, and musical instrument in ancient terracotta plaques spell out both of their utility and popularity in contemporary society and a prosperous cultural structure.