The art of making blue glaze pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

came to Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 via Kashmir

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

, their entry point into India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The name comes from the eye-catching Persian

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 blue dye used to color the clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

. The Jaipur

Jaipur

Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 blue pottery, made out of Egyptian paste, is glazed and low-fired. Some of this pottery is semi-transparent and mostly decorated with animal and bird motifs. Being fired at very low temperature makes them fragile. The range of items is primarily decorative, such as ashtray

Ashtray

An ashtray is a receptacle for ash and butts from cigarettes and cigars. Ashtrays are typically made of fireproof material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or rock....

s, vases, coasters, small bowls

Bowls

Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...

 and boxes for trinkets. The colour palette is restricted to blue derived from the cobalt oxide, green from the copper oxide

Copper(I) oxide

Copper oxide or cuprous oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Cu2O. It is one of the principal oxides of copper. This red-coloured solid is a component of some antifouling paints. The compound can appear either yellow or red, depending on the size of the particles, but both forms...

 and white

White

White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...

, though other non-conventional colours, such as yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...

 and brown

Brown

Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....

 are sometimes included.

The use of blue glaze on pottery made from Multani mitti, or Fuller’s earth, is an imported technique, first developed by Mongol artisans who combined Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 glazing technology with Persian decorative arts. This technique travelled south to India with early Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 potentates in the 14th century. During its infancy, it was used to make tiles to decorate mosques, tombs and palaces in Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

.

Later, the Mughals began using them in India to mimic

Mimic

In evolutionary biology, mimicry is the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both. This similarity can be in appearance, behaviour, sound, scent and even location, with the mimics found in similar places to their models....

 their structures from beyond the mountains in Samarkand

Samarkand

Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...

. Gradually the blue glaze technique grew beyond an architectural accessory to Kashmiri potters. From there, the technique traveled to the plains of Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

 and in the 17th century went to Jaipur. The rulers of Jaipur were partial to blue-glazed ware, and many marble halls in Rambagh Palace

Rambagh Palace

The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan is the former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur and now a luxury Taj Palace Hotel, located outside of the walls of the city of Jaipur on Bhawani Singh Road...

 have fountain

Fountain

A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....

s lined with blue tiles. These tiles were also used in the building of the city of Jaipur, but they disappeared soon after.

The revival of tile-making began in the late 19th century, and Jaipur became the centre of a thriving industry producing blueware. The traditional Persian designs have now been adapted to please a more sophisticated clientele

Customer

A customer is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services...

. Apart from the usual urns, jars, pots

POTS

POTS may refer to:* Plain old telephone service, basic wireline telecommunication connection** POTS codec, a digital audio device** DSL filter, also known as a POTS filter* Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a medical condition...

 and vases, you can now find find tea set

Tea set

A tea set, in the Western tradition, is a set of dishes sold in a group for use at afternoon tea or a formal tea party.Tea sets vary greatly in quality and price, from inexpensive to high-end.-Items in a tea set:...

s, cups

Teacup

A teacup is a small cup, with or without a handle, generally a small one that may be grasped with the thumb and one or two fingers. It is typically made of a ceramic material. It is usually part of a set, composed of a cup and a matching saucer. These in turn may be part of a tea set in...

 and saucer

Saucer

A saucer is a small type of dishware, a plate that is specifically used with and for supporting a cup – a cylindrical cup intended for coffee or a half-sphere teacup for tea. Additionally, the saucer is a distant cousin to the plate. The saucer has a raised centre with a depression sized to fit a...

s, plates

Plate (dishware)

A plate is a broad, concave, but mainly flat vessel on which food can be served. A plate can also be used for ceremonial or decorative purposes.-Materials:...

 and glasses

Glasses

Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...

, jugs

Jug (container)

A jug is a type of container used to hold liquid. It has an opening, often narrow, from which to pour or drink, and nearly always has a handle. One could imagine a jug being made from nearly any watertight material, but most jugs throughout history have been made from clay, glass, or plastic...

, ashtrays and napkin

Napkin

A napkin, or face towel is a rectangle of cloth used at the table for wiping the mouth while eating. It is usually small and folded...

 rings. One can spot blue pottery being made at Sanganer

Sanganer

Sanganer is a town situated 15 km south of Jaipur, the capital of Indian state of Rajasthan. The town is famous for handmade paper industry, textile printing and for Jain temples. Sanganer prints are one of its own kinds, for the reason that patterns in bright colors are always printed on white...

, not far from Jaipur, and also within the city at Kripal Kumbh, Shiva Marg. Natha Arts

Notable artists

• Kripal Singh Shekhawat
  Kripal Singh Shekhawat
  Kripal Singh Shekhawat was a renowned craftsman of India. He was famous for his skills in Blue Pottery and is credited for the revival of that art in India...
  
  
• Parbhu Dayal Yadav
  Parbhu Dayal Yadav
  Prabhu Dayal Yadav is a noted artisan of Rajasthan. He is an expert in Blue Pottery of Jaipur. Yadav was awarded prestgious Shilp Guru award in 2002 by government of India.-Career:...
  
  
• Satyanarayan Natha
• Leela Bordia