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The use of colored glazed tiles began after the Muslim conquest. The tile art called Chini or Kashi became highly refined. Today, many ceramic centers produce tiles - both glazed and unglazed terracotta with traditional and modern designs.
Terracotta is mainly used for religious purposes such as votive offerings to the numerous gods in the Hindu pantheon. Hence, each region has a distinct design, content and body. The votive offerings made in these terracotta earthenware are a substitute for sacrifices. There is usually an intriguing symbolism in the size and form of each. For instance while the horse is big, the rider by comparison is small. The explanation is that, the horse has divine essence, whereas the rider is only a human representation.
In villages around New Delhi, there are about dozen centers engaged in the production of good terracotta figurines. Deities such as Ganesh for Ganesh Chaturthi or Durga for Navratri, elaborately molded and worshiped during these celebrations in Maharashtra and West Bengal are the finest examples of clay being used for religious expression. Bengal has the largest array of the finest specimens of temple terracotta panels. Even in South India, numerous offerings of terracotta horses and elephants are made to a deity called Aiyanar who is believed to ride them
Today under the onslaught of modernity, when traditions and cultures are being eroded and corrupted by the availability of mass-produced goods, many common household items are becoming collectors' items! These artifacts of everyday life, like storage containers for rice and salt, earthenware water jars, cooking pots and incense burners, are assuming rich forms and ideas, hitherto undiscovered. Utilitarian yet unique, such ordinary articles are as much the result of a folk craft handed down over the generations as of the collective experience and wisdom of the people.
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