Blue Pottery

About

Beautiful blue pottery of Jaipur One of the most recognised crafts of Jaipur is its blue pottery. The name “blue pottery” originated from the blue colour of dye used for the pottery. It is an imported technique that was first developed by the artisans of the Mongol who combined Persian decorative art with Chinese glazing technology. In the 14th century, this technique came to India with early Turkic conquests. The Mughals began using them following their conquest or following their arrival. This technique grew beyond an architectural accessory for the Indian potters which gradually travelled the plains of Delhi and ultimately to Jaipur. Blue pottery from Jaipur is made from a similar material as frit material to the faience of Egypt, low glazed and low fired. The dough is made by mixing quartz stone powder, Multani mitti, gum, water and borax. Some of the pottery is semi-transparent decorated with birds or animal motifs. The most common motifs found in these styles of pottery are geometric patterns or flower patterns while recurring images of elephants and peacocks are seen as well. Glazing forms an important part of the process after decoration is done. A mixture of powdered glass, boric acid, zinc oxide etc is heated until it melts. It is again ground into a fine powder once it cools down mixed with water and maida to attain the final glaze. All pieces are set to dry once the glaze is applied. Blue pottery as an industry provides livelihood to many residents of Jaipur and serves as a great source of income for the government of Jaipur. Adopting the traditional techniques, now you can find tea sets, cups, plates and glasses, napkin rings etc. However, the challenges faced by the artisans is that the product quality is not appreciable with many other forms of potteries. There is difficulty in maintaining records as there is no standardized measurement for the ingredients at the time of the making process. iTokri handicraft store is here with the best quality blue po