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thebengalstore · 4 years

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History of Terracotta Temples in India

Clay has been used from the prehistoric times and is considered as among the oldest building materials. To add longevity to the objects or buildings was built using clay, terracotta came into vogue, and being lighter in nature has been widely used for architectural purposes across the globe.

The excellent terracotta temples gained popularity during the Hindu Revival period under the Krishna bhakti movement that continued for three centuries, 16th – 19th century CE, during which thousands of temples were sponsored by kings, merchants, and zamindars. The architects and patrons of these temples valued experimentation and individuality.

The use of terracotta clay in West Bengal started in ancient times with the making of objects used for regular lives and finally progressed being used for exquisite temple constructions from the early modern era in the 15th-16th century CE.

The Char Bangla temples of Baranagar

West Bengal is scattered with many beautiful terracotta temples that are spread across the state, but many of them are in a dilapidated condition owing to complete neglect and apathy. Among the unique terracotta temples of this state are the Char Bangla temples situated in Baranagar.

Baranagar was once the capital of Rani Bhavani of Natore (1716-1795) that falls in the Murshidabad district. Under the Rani, Natore was at that time considered as the wealthiest of all Bengal zamindaris, a part of which the queen donated for various charitable reasons. While shifting her capital to the western side of the river Ganges, Rani Bhavani decided to build 108 Shiva temples in Baranagar. With an aim to build another Benares.

Built between 1753 to 1760, many of the temples are lost owing to a change in the course of the river Bhagirathi that engulfed the structures. Among the ones that survived are a group of two-Chala temples known as the Char Bangla temple.

Bishnupur – A town of Terracotta temples

Bishnupur, called as the land of terracotta temples was ruled by Malla rulers, the patronage of Malla king Veer Hambir and his successors Raja Raghunath Singha Dev and Bir Singha Dev made Bishnupur one of the principal center of Bengali cultural and built most of the exquisite terracotta temples during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Similar to the contouring of Vrindavan that has been carried out by Chaitanya and the Gaudiya Vaishnava devotees in the 16th century, temples flourished in Bishnupur and were constructed to establish ritual worship. The deities installed in these temples were named after the idols enshrined in Vrindavan.

The Jor Bangla temple is one of the most remarkable historical structures. It was built by Raghunath Singha II. The construction of this temple is different from others as it was greatly influenced by classic Bengali architecture.

Terracotta temples of Maluti

Maluti is a tiny village in Jharkhand with more than 70 rich terracotta architecture dating back to the 17th century. In the early 16th and 17th centuries, instead of constructing palaces, this king’s successors competed for prestige by building more and more temples on auspicious occasions.The clash of egos between the women of the zamindar family also appears to be the reason behind the construction of so many temples in a small village.

This traditional art form of Bengal, India has continued till the modern era where it has become predominantly an handicraft form to produce home decor items like dolls, artifacts, tiles, statues, etc. These terracotta handicrafts are also available on online stores like The Bengal Store, etc.

#terracotta #bengali #handicrafts #Indian #art

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