Ancient History

Out of all of humankind’s handicrafts, pottery is the oldest. Even writing, the very method of communication used to communicate today, came after the first pots. And like many things, it’s theorized that it was discovered by complete accident. In ancient times, people would transport water in handwoven baskets. The water, especially that from rivers, would have some clay in it. As the clay dried out, it would take on the shape of the basket. Eventually, people realized that these clay linings could be used as sturdy containers. They gathered clay, shaped it, and baked in the sun or hot ashes, sometimes decorating them with primitive tools. Thus, the first clay pots (and by extension, all of pottery) was born.

The first potter’s wheel is believed to have come from Sumer in 3129 BC, although there is evidence that points to other places of origin. Precursors to the wheel started appearing as early as 4500 BC though, so an exact date is likely impossible. That said, the idea of using a wheel to assist in the creation of pottery. Nowadays, pottery is heated through the use of a kiln. It’s widely accepted that the ancient Egyptians created the first kilns, lined with bricks made with clay and straw for insulation. They were also among the first to glaze their pottery before firing. Much like their modern equivalent, this glaze gave the pottery a glass-like sheen and texture and made the item non-porous.

Eventually, people figured out that mixing sand in with the clay resulted in pots strong enough to withstand being directly in a fire. This was likely sometime during the medieval period. The same concept is used today when creating casserole dishes for baking. It also helps prevent warping, cracking, or exploding inside of the kiln during firing.

From a very early date in history, some say at least 400 B. C., earthenware pottery was produced on a mass scale by a potter’s wheel in many parts of the world.

From a very early date in history, some say at least 400 B. C., earthenware pottery was produced on a mass scale by a potter’s wheel in many parts of the world.

The Egyptians made kilns to place their clay pots in for firing. The kiln was lined with a kind of insulation brick that was made from a mixture of straw and clay which had been dried in the sun. Later, the ancient Egyptians used a finer clay with a high quartz content for their delicate pottery. They rubbed the pieces with a smooth stone to give the a dull sheen or coated them with a fine layer of another color of clay.

Ancient Greek vases are highly valued for form and decoration. The graceful lines an perfect balance speak to our desire for beauty. The pottery was decorated with pictures of the daily lives of the people and stories of their gods, goddesses and heroes. On the red figure vases the background was painted black and the figures were left the natural red color of the clay. The color was reversed on the black-figured vases. In medieval times sand was mixed with clay to make cooking pots strong enough to be placed over an open fire. Today, for the same reason, casseroles used for baking are made from clay mixed with grog which is a ground-up fired pottery. The openness of grog clay allows water to evaporate more evenly as it dries and prevents cracking and warping during the firing. Grog clay eases the problem of heat expansion which can cause large thick pieces of pottery or sculpture to blow up in the kiln.

Around the middle of the thirteenth century German potters started to produce stoneware. This pottery was made form finer clays and fired at a higher temperature than earthenware. Stoneware was tan or gray in color, strong and naturally non-porous.

Evolution of Pottery Art Chalcolithic Age: Chalcolithic Era, the first metal age, is marked by the occurrence of distinct cultures in various parts of our country namely – Ahar culture Pottery plays an important role in studying culture in South Eastern Rajasthan, Malwa culture in Western and reconstructing the past. Historically with distinct MP, Jorwe culture in Western Maharashtra, etc. During culture, the style of pottery changed. It reflects the this period, there were 3 types of pottery: social, economic and environmental conditions a culture thrived in, which helps the archaeologists and Black-and-red-ware Pottery: Black and red ware seems historians in understanding our past. The art of pottery to have been widely used. Cultures like Ahar-Banas evolved over many ages to the art we know today. showed the presence of Black and Red ware pottery with white linear designs. Black-on-red ware: Jorwe Neolithic Age: We find the first reference of pottery ware is painted black-on-red and has a matt surface in this age. Naturally it is hand-made pottery but treated with a wash. during the later period footwheel is also used. This was unglazed/unburnished that used to have rough surface, Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP): OCP people area also they were handmade course grey pots. People used clay regarded as the junior contemporaries of Harappa. mixed with mica and sand for making the pots.In many This pottery is identified with the Copper Hoard cases twisted rice husk cords were impressed into wet Culture that was found in upper Ganga Valley and clay for decoration. Ganga Yamuna doab area. Harappan Civilization: Both polished and unpolished types of pottery existed, pottery generally has a red surface and is wheel thrown although handmade ones too exist. Most of the pottery is polychrome meaning more than two colours are used to colour the pottery. The colour of the pottery ranges from orange to red. The period covered by the OCP culture is roughly placed between 2000 BC and 1500 BC. This was majorly found in Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Atranjikhera (UP).

16. Vedic Era: The Vedic Era saw the emergence of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) Culture. The Rig Vedic sites have PGW but iron objects and cereals are absent. Hence it is considered a pre-iron phase of PGW. This pottery is an Iron Age pottery found in the Gangetic plain and Ghaggar Hakra valley. Are confined to few geographical locations, namely – Punjab, Haryana and upper Ganga Valley. This culture is associated with village and town settlements (but without large cities). They are characterized by a style of fine, grey pottery painted with geometric patterns in black.

Later Vedic Era: The later Vedic people were acquainted with 4 types of pottery Black-and-red ware, black slipped ware, painted grey ware and red ware.

End of Later Vedic Era: Towards the very end of Later Vedic Age around 6th century BC, we see the emergence of the 2nd phase of urbanization. Made of fine fabric and served as tableware for the richer class. Considered deluxe pottery only found with the elites revealing societal stratification which was a result of Brahmanical hegemony. Glossy, shining type pottery was used. Found in Ahichatra, Hastinapur (both in UP), Navdatoli (Madhya Pradesh).

Megalithic Era: This culture is placed between- 3rd Century BC to 1st Century AD. Megaliths refers to monuments constructed of big (mega) stones (lith). This culture is particularly known for its large stone graves. In the South this age is characterized by the use of iron. The pots were well baked and durable, bulk of these were plain however, a sherd from Koldihawa reveals black painting on the surface.

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Pottery Art in India

Pottery in the Indian subcontinent has an ancient history and is one of the most tangible and iconic elements of Indian art. Evidence of pottery has been found in the early settlements of Lahuradewa and later the Indus Valley Civilization. Today, it is a cultural art that is still practiced extensively in Indian subcontinent.

Hindu traditions historically discouraged the use of pottery for eating off, which probably explains the noticeable lack of traditions of fine or luxury pottery in South Asia, in contrast to East Asia and other parts of Eurasia. Large matki jars for the storage of water or other things form the largest part of traditional Indian pottery, as well as objects such as lamps. Small simple kulhar cups, and also oil lamps, that are disposable after a single use remain common. Today, pottery thrives as an art form in India.Like all other handicrafts and crafts, the tradition of pottery making in India is very old. The ancient pottery of a country speaks volumes about its civilization.

There has also been much figurative sculpture and decorative tilework in ceramics in the subcontinent, with the production of terracotta figurines being widespread in different regions and periods. In Bengal in particular, a lack of stone produced an extensive tradition of architectural sculpture for temples and mosques in terracotta and carved brick. The approximately life-size figures decorating gopurams in South India are usually painted terracotta

In India pottery was practised in different cultures :

Sothi Siswal Culture: Sothi-Siswal is the site of a PreIndus Valley Civilisation settlement dating to as early as 4600 BCE. According to Tejas Garge, Sothi culture precedes Siswal culture considerably, and should be seen as the earlier tradition. Sothi-Siswal culture is named after these two sites, located 70 km apart. As many as 165 sites of this culture have been reported. There are also broad similarities between Sothi-Siswal and Kot Diji ceramics. Kot Diji culture area is located just to the northwest of the Sothi-Siswal area. Sothi Siswal ceramics are found as far south as the Ahar Banas culture area in southeastern Rajasthan.

Ahar-Banas Culture: Ahar-Banas culture is a Chalcolithic archaeological culture on the banks of Ahar River of southeastern Rajasthan state in India, lasting from c. 3000 to 1500 BC, contemporary and adjacent to the Indus Valley Civilization. Situated along the Banas and Berach Rivers, as well as the Ahar River, the Ahar Banas people were exploiting the copper ores of the Aravalli Range to make axes and other artefacts. They were sustained on a number of crops, including wheat and barley. The design motifs of the seals are generally quite simple, with wide-ranging parallels from various Indus Civilization sites.

Rangpur Culture: Rangpur culture, near Vanala on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, lies on the tip between the Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kutch, it belongs to the period of the Indus valley civilization, and lies to the northwest of the larger site of Lothal. Trail Diggings were conducted by Archeological Survey of India (ASI) during 1931 led by M.S.Vats(madho sarup vats). Later, Ghurye (1939), Dikshit (1947) and S.R.Rao (1953–56) excavated the site under ASI projects. S.R.Rao has classified the deposits into four periods with three sub periods in Harappan Culture, Period II with an earlier Period, Microlithic and a Middle Paleolithic State (River sections) with points, scrapers and blades of jasper.

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Styles in different States of India

Over time India’s simple style of molding clay went into an evolution. A number of distinct styles emerged from this simple style. Every village of almost every state of India has a potter (Khumbar or Kumhar) who ‘wheels’ out an amazing variety of household utensils and other objects of utility. They sit outside their huts, spinning their wheels, creating bowls, mugs, plates, urns, for storing and carrying water, flowerpots, foot scrubbers, small pots and a myriad other articles required by an Indian household.

With the spread of urbanization, the potter settlements have now mushroomed on the outskirts of big cities and towns. As India has a diverse culture and traditions in different states, the pottery developed accordingly.

Every state of India has their own style and traditions when it comes to the Art of Pottery. DELHI

RAJASTHAN

GUJRAT

MAHARASHTRA

GOA KASHMIR

HIMACHAL PRADESH

UTTAR PRADESH

WEST BENGAL

TAMIL NADU