Antique Terra Cotta Cigar or Cigarette, Match Holder & Striker of a Revolutionary Soldier. Terra Cotta cigar or cigarette & match holder, striker & ashtray of a Revolutionary Soldier. Size is 9 1/2″ x 6 1/4″, and marked I & C/190. It is in excellent condition as I did not see any chip, crack or repair and is consistent with its age and uses. Please check out the pictures as they are important parts of the listing and disregard the lighting glares. About Terra Cotta and Cold-Painted Items. Painted (polychrome) terracotta is typically first covered with a thin coat of. It has been very widely used but the paint is only suitable for indoor positions and is much less durable than fired colors in or under a ceramic glaze. The typical firing temperature is around 1,000 °C (1,830 °F), though it may be as low as 600 °C (1,112 °F) in historic and archaeological examples. For this reason, many terra cotta objects (such as match holders/strikers) lose the paints on the surface easily as seen in many vintage/antique examples. Some paints could even be washed off with alcohol or similar solutions if they are not fired up to 1,000 °C. Therefore, terra cotta objects that have most paints intact are hard to find and are highly desirable by collectors. Fired terracotta is not. But surface-burnishing the body before firing can decrease its porousness and a layer of glaze can make it watertight. Some types of terracotta are. How to care terracotta and cold-painted items. (1) Since Terra Cotta objects are not 100% water proof especially the vintage/antique ones, do not wash them as water would get into the objects which might have crazed and result in cracks. Instead, clean it with a slightly damp cloth and clean it gently. (2) Since not all terra cotta objects are fired up to 1,000 °C, some paints on certain surface are like cold-painted paints and wear off or can be removed easily. Do not use alcohol or acetone as they could unevenly remove the paints in some unstable areas making it look like damaged. (3) Do not use bleach as it could eventually damage the clay and the item could fall apart into many small pieces later. Please ask question before purchasing it if you are not familiar with cold-painted items. It should be used as reference only. You should do your own research and decide if it is useful for you.