W40xL80xH80mm, China
Clay toys are a popular folk toy, they are affordable and has a certain naive and child like expression. Wonder how these clay toy are made? The clay from 2m under ground are usually used (they are easily available, higher in plasticity and with less impurity). The dug up clay is sun dried then crushed down with a mallet. The fine clay sieved out into a dish and soaked with water for a several days. The semi wet clay is lay on a stone slab; after a sprinkle of water, it is pounced with a mallet, this process is repeated several time until the clay is not sticking to the slab, then form a cube with the clay. Slabs are cut out with a wire and then into coil. The coils are pressed onto a 2 pieces mould (the mould are dusted with dried clay powder for ease of case removal), the 2 parts of the mould are then joined together and joined together with additional coil from the inside, then the bottom is sealed off. The mould is released and the clay toy is left to dried before colouring. The base colour of the Chinese clay toy are normally white, with a few line to pick up the details.
Mountain Folkcraft 