A journey to ancient Bengal

Terracotta Art is considered to be the earliest form of art. In ancient Bengal, terracotta was used for domestic work as well as exterior and interior decoration. The use of terracotta was widespread in Bengal as it lacked stone, due to which the artists of Bengal were more often seen working with it. Therefore, terracotta art has turned out to be one of the ancient art forms of Bengal that is breathing in the context of Bangladesh even today.

To pay tribute to the art, Bangladesh National Museum and students of the Department of Ceramics of Rajshahi University have jointly organised an 11-day Terracotta Art Exhibition 2016 in the capital. Beginning from July 15 the exhibition will end on July 26. At the exhibition the terracotta objects are chosen to represent the artistic, religious and socio-cultural life of medieval Bengal. A total of 150 terracotta works are presented in the exhibition along with the largest of South Asia and the smallest terracotta work in the world. The exhibition has both artefacts crafted by ancient and contemporary generations.

Among those 150 artefacts, 50 of them are crafted by students of Rajshahi University. One insider shared, “We took the opportunity to craft all the tiny elements of our life on a larger scale. The concept is to portray an impression– even though terracotta art is an ancient form of art it still holds a broader vision that we can live by.” 

Inaugurated by Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, the exhibition will remain open from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm from Saturday to Wednesday and from 3pm to 8 pm on Friday till July 26.