What is Terracotta and Faience?
Terracotta and faience are both formed from ground clay mixed with sand or powdered fired clay which has enough plasticity that it can be moulded into a shape. Such materials are harder and fired to a higher temperature than an ordinary clay brick would be and as such require clay of a higher quality. The
difference between terracotta and faience is that faience is covered with one or more glazes whereas terracotta is not. The glazing imparted on faience is sometimes used to imitate stone. They used terracotta and fiancé long ago to create buildings, so that both sustained nowadays improvement in different fields.
Due to its extreme water resistance, faience have an indispensable usage in the bathroom and the toilet. Both terracotta and faience were a cheaper alternative to carved stone as many units could be cast from the same mould and can often be found as a cladding or facing material on buildings.
One of the most significant properties of terracotta is the “fire skin” which develops when it is fired. When removed this fireskin is impossible to replace and the loss of this quality leaves terracotta vulnerable to soiling and deterioration.
