Blue Pottery - Jaipur, Rajasthan
Blue Pottery is one of the well-known crafts of Jaipur. It was once a native craft of Persia that was brought to India by Mughals and later got patronized by Indian ruler (mostly Rajput). This blue pottery technique is an imported one. It is a mix of Chinese glazing technology with Persian decorative arts. Blue pottery caught the local people’s interest and many started learning this craft soon, most of the Kumbhar (pottery) families also shifted from working on red clay to blue pottery later, on a larger scale. Eventually blue pottery craft flourished in and around Jaipur. Blue pottery has made its mark among few of other crafts in Jaipur. And one among those places where blue pottery is carried on is Sanganer.
Sanganer is a town-situated in Jaipur, the largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in northern India. It is 16kms south of Jaipur. It has been abode for blue pottery and other various handicrafts. Blue pottery has grown to an industry where it provides livelihood to many people. Though new designs are adapted to enhance the craft, artisans have also been keen on keeping their traditional ways. In blue pottery one can see the use of the dough in the place of clay. The dough is a mixture of quartz stone, powder glass, multani mitti, borax, gum and water. The Blue pottery gets its name from the blue dye that is used to color the pottery. The design patterns are mostly of floral, animal and birds motifs. Apart from usual urns that were made earlier, artisans have come up with tea sets, cups and saucers, glasses, jars, mugs, ashtrays and more. The tiles of blue pottery are an attraction and amazingly handcrafted products with supercool designs. Tiles can be arranged in numerous ways to create patterned floors and walls. There are endless possibilities and are eye catchy, these design patterns can be customized to any size accordingly.
