designslinger - Word of the Week: terra cotta

 
[terra cotta (ca. 1880) Lincoln Avenue, Chicago /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

terra cotta (TER-uh-KOT-uh) n. hard fired clay especially that which is used in architecture or in decorative art of a large scale;

 
[terra cotta, Aragon Ballroom (1926) Broadway Building (ca.1925) /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

may be left in its natural brown surface or it may be painted with a solid enamel, or a glaze of brilliant colors;

 
 
[terra cotta, Sheridan Bank Building (1926) /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

freely employed in the United States from about 1880 into the 1930s, almost to the exclusion of stone.
Posted by designslinger at 12/2/2009 2:00 AM
Categories: Dictionary, Decorative Arts
Tags: definition
 

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  • 12/2/2009 10:46 AM Marnie wrote:
    The designs and details you photograph take my breath away. Thank you for sharing Chicago with those of us who live away but love the historic city.
    Marnie
    Reply to this
    1. 12/3/2009 4:35 AM designslinger wrote:
      What a nice compliment. It's feedback like this that keeps us going. Thank you, very, very much.


      Reply to this
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