Hand Made Pottery

Blue Pottery is widely recognized as a traditional craft of Jaipur of Central Asian origin. The name ‘blue pottery’ comes from the eye-catching cobalt blue dye used to color the pottery. It is one of many Eurasian types of blue and white pottery, and related in the shapes and decoration to Islamic pottery and, more distantly, Chinese pottery. Jaipur blue pottery, made out of a similar frit material to faience, is glazed and low-fired. No clay is used: the ‘dough’ for the pottery is prepared by mixing quartz stone powder, powdered glass, Multani Mitti (Fuller’s Earth), borax, gum and water. Another source cites Katira Gond powder (a gum), and saaji (soda bicarbonate) as ingredients. Some of this pottery is semi-transparent and mostly decorated with bird and other animal motifs. Being fired at very low temperature makes them fragile. The range of items is primarily decorative, such as ashtrays, vases, coasters, small bowls and boxes for trinkets. The colour palette is restricted to blue derived from the cobalt oxide, green from the copper oxide and white, though other non-conventional colours, such as yellow and brown are sometimes included. “