The black pottery of
Nizamabad in
Azamgarh district
Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Etymology
The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...
of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, India is unique type of clay pottery known for its dark shiny body with engraved silver patterns.
It was registered for
Geographical Indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
tag in December 2015.
Pottery
The pottery are made with locally available fine textured clay. The clay moulds are prepared in different shapes and are backed in kiln. Later these clay wares are washed with powdered vegetable matter and are rubbed with
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
oil. They are decorated with floral and geometric patterned grooves using sharp twigs. They are smoke fired with rice husks in enclosed kilns which gives its unique shiny black surface. They are again rubbed with oil and baked in kiln. The grooves on clay wares are then filled with silvery powder of
Zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, washed with water and polished again.
Lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
or
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
Amalgams are also used.
The silver powder gives shiny hue against black background of pottery.
The variety of household and decorative items are made including vases, plates, pots, lamps, tea-pots, bowls, vessels, incense stick holders and statues of Hindu religious figures. ''Surahi'', a long-necked water pot, is a popular item.
History
The black pottery is studied by historians due to its resemble with the
Northern Black Polished Ware
The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (abbreviated NBPW or NBP) is an urban Iron Age Indian culture of the Indian Subcontinent, lasting c. 700–200 BCE (proto NBPW between 1200 and 700 BCE), succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture and Blac ...
pottery of urban
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
culture of
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.
The silver patterns are inspired from medieval
Bidriware
Bidriware is a metal handicraft from the city of Bidar in southern India. It was developed in the 14th century C.E. during the rule of the Bahmani Sultans. The term "bidriware" originates from the township of Bidar, which is still the chief cent ...
of
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
which decorates pots using silver wires.
Powdered mix of lead, mercury and zinc in equal proportion is filled into the carved design a technique which was introduced from Gujarat during the
Mughal rule of
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
.
[ How Nizamabad’s 500-year-old black pottery is regaining lost glory by Rashmi Pratap 2020 https://30stades.com/2020/08/03/how-nizamabads-500-year-old-black-pottery-is-regaining-lost-glory-craft-uttar-pradesh] Around 200 families are involved in the craft in Nizamabad and majority of their works are exported. Still their condition remains abysmal. The black clay pottery was applied for
Geographical Indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
(GI) tag in October 2013 with support of
NABARD
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex regulatory body for overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India. It is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, Government of India ...
of
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
and Human Welfare Association of
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
. It was registered for GI tag in December 2015 which gives the right to name the product to specific geographic region of origin only.
Further reading
*
References
{{reflist
Azamgarh district
Cultural history of India
Indian pottery
Geographical indications in Uttar Pradesh