In the Harappan culture the art of pottery making had reached a high level. The Indus potter was a skilled craftsman who produced plain, coloured and glazed pottery. The pottery had various shapes, rich designs, colours and a perfect finish. Along with fast wheel thrown pottery, mould made and hand formed pottery continued to be produced. Harappan pottery was made of good quality clay, which was baked in controlled heat in various shapes like bowls, vases, Handi, feeder, dish, storage jar, offering stand, dish-on-stand jars, drinking vessels, cup and cup on stand, basin, casket and so on.

A large find of small and miniature pottery has been discovered in the Harappan civilization. The size of this kind of pottery is about an inch. It consists of jars and pots, some of which have been crudely executed, have asymmetrical lower bodies and bases. However, many of them are wheel made, having careful finish and are painted with great care. In case of these miniature pottery, the body wall thickness is significant in relation to maximum body diameter. It was made of both clay and faience, which is a paste made of crushed steatite.

The discovery of miniature pottery has been explained culturally as either serving as toys or playthings for children or for cult practices. The finish and the workmanship of a majority of these suggest that they were perhaps not made by children. The votive purpose of these pieces is speculative, as is the existence of a cult where these miniatures could have been used