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CLAY
CRAFTS
Clay
craft is probably the earliest of man's creations. Clay pottery is
an ancient art form in India dating back to well over
 10,000 years.
The clay objects found at the excavation sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation point to the high quality of skill and technology of
the Indian potter. Jhuker Pottery was related with the
people
of the Harappan towns like Amri and Chanhudaro situated in Sind.
The Red Ware was the most popular type of pottery during the
late-Vedic period. It has been discovered from many archaeological sites in
western Uttar Pradesh. The
Painted Grey Ware was another distinctive form of pottery of
the Vedic times that consisted of bowls and dishes, which were used
for rituals and for eating. The
appearance of Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP) marked the
beginning of the second phase of urbanisation in India.
This was a very glossy and shiny type of pottery made of very
fine fabric.
Pottery
has been called the lyric of handicrafts because of its irresistible
and universal appeal. There is a wide range of clay crafts in India.
The Bengali Surai or the common jug; Alwar's Kagzi or
paper pottery; Bikaner's painted pottery; the colourful Khurja
pottery of Uttar Pradesh; the glazed tiles of Chunar and Chinhat
in Uttar Pradesh; the clay ware of Himachal Pradesh in its various
forms like gidya, patri and narele; the large-sized
storage articles of Khanapur in Belgaum district of Karnataka;
Saurashtra's beautiful earthenware made of gopichandan; the dal
gate pottery of Srinagar and the unique Karigiri pottery
of south Arcot made up of white low-fusing china clay called namakatte
are but few examples of the diversity and richness of clay craft in
India. The popular but rather unusual Blue pottery of Jaipur
was introduced from Persia in the mid-19th century. Another
interesting variety of pottery is the Pokran pottery, which
combines beautiful moulded forms with interesting geometrical
patterns. Black pottery, lac-coated terracotta, temple bricks,
decorative roof tiles, lamp- shades and ornaments are some of the
other wonderful earthenware of India.
 Terracotta
is a porous and brittle material formed by the low heat of a
traditional Indian kiln. Created by the interaction of earth, water and fire, this
medium has found expression through almost every period of Indian
history. Most
terracotta art and pottery is produced by moulding objects by hand
or on the wheel and firing them in an open oven. A smoother finish,
when needed, is given by rubbing and polishing the surface with
wooden palettes or stones while it is still wet. The terracotta
tradition of creating figures of deities on ceremonial and
auspicious occasions brings out the religious nature of their
pottery. Terracotta sculpture was also commonly used in
architectural edifices. The temples of Bishnupur, Murshidabad,
Birbhum and Hooghly in West Bengal, the Buddhist viharas of
Pala period and some mosques of the Mughal period are beautiful
examples of the use of terracotta in architecture.
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