Pottery

Potters pottering about on their wheel and fashioning all kinds of pitchers and earthenware are a common sight in India. While pottery for daily use – like gharas (water pots), surahis (pitchers), diyas (lamps) and gamlas (flower pots) – is made all over India, certain areas specialize in a particular type.


¤ Diverse Variety of pottery

Terracotta
Terracotta Perhaps the most common form of pottery in India, terracotta pops up in almost every state. Votive figures of elephants, serpents, birds and horses are made in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and the Jhabua and Bastar regions of Madhya Pradesh. Quite similar to these are the horses of Darbhanga in Bihar which are painted in bright rainbow colors once they are made. Another place known for its magnificent, six-metre high terracotta horses is Tamil Nadu.
Terracotta panels and storage jars painted white and decorated with tiny mirrors are common in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Molela in Rajasthan excels in sculpted terracotta plaques and icons of Rajput heroes and Hindu deities.
Orissa and Madhya Pradesh have a charming tradition of decorative roof top tiles, made partly by hand moulding and partly on the wheel. These tiles, shaped like half tubes, have perched on top of them figures of elephants, monkeys, bears, reptiles, gods and goddesses and are considered a status symbol among the rural people.

Blue-Glaze
Blue-glaze Delhi, Kashmir, Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Khurja (Uttar Pradesh) are known for the use of blue glaze on pottery made from Multani mitti, or Fuller’s earth. Essentially an imported technique, it was first developed by enterprising Mongol artisans who combined Chinese glazing technology with Persian decorative arts. During its infancy, it was strictly used to make tiles to decorate mosques, tombs and palaces in Central Asia but Kashmiri potters soon took to it with a vengeance.

The traditional Persian designs have now been adapted to please a more sophisticated clientele. Apart from the predictable urns, jars, pots and vases, you’ll now find tea sets, cups and saucers, plates and glasses, jugs, ashtrays and even napkin rings.