History of Blue Pottery

The history of the art of pottery is as old as the history of mankind. Glass was discovered in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Syria, Iran and Indus Valley. It was further discovered that when alkaline soil was mixed with copper and heated it gave a turquoise blue color. In Iran, utensils made out of a shining soil flourished. This was in practice even before the advent of Islam. Being of Blue color it was highly acceptable to Islamic culture. This discovery of “Gila- Lazwart” or cobalt oxide did wonders to the earthen pots. It was used to glaze and paint pots which on heating assumed a deep blue color. This soil is found in a small village called Goojar close to Teheran. This is made into balls and sold to the chemist who heats them and when it gets cool, grinds them into a fine powder which is further passed through a very fine sieve. Then it is sold to the gila- lazwart artist. 

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Iran’s ruler Shah Abbas (1587- 1620) thought of a shrewd scheme. He invited 300 artists/ potters from China. Their leader was Manuhar and they found that Iranian soil was unsuitable for making porcelain. They along with their Iranian counterparts found a new alternative and thus was born ‘Blue Pottery’. This title was conferred by the British. In Iranian language it is known as ‘Sangine’ or ‘Aatike’ and means ‘made out of stone’ or ‘old fashioned’. 

The art of making blue glaze pottery came to Rajasthan via Kashmir, their entry point to India. The name comes from the eye catching blue dye used to colour the clay. The Jaipur blue pottery made out of an Egyptian paste, is glazed and low fired. This pottery is opaque and mostly decorated with animal and bird motifs. Being fired at low temperature, it is fragile and easily chipped. Blue Pottery is Turko- Persian in origin, but today is widely known as one of the distinctive craft of Jaipur. 

On the verge of extinction Blue Pottery, had enormous potential and should have flourished, but over the years master potters refused to share their trade secrets with their fellow craftsmen so there was an eventual lowering of standards and a gradual dying out of the craft. Over the years the craft was kept alive by her Highness Gayatri Devi who widely promoted Blue Pottery. The extensive use of Blue Pottery tiles in mosques of Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and historical monuments of India tell about the journey undertaken by this craft to finally settle down in Jaipur due to Royal patronage in the early 19th century.