Khurja pottery is traditional Indian pottery work manufactured in Khurja of the Bulandshahr district in Uttar Pradesh state, India. Khurja pottery products are colorful, useful and add ethnicity elegant. The collection of soup bowls, vases, plates, and other cutlery items are available to make the dining experience all-the-more chic and classy, or have something worthy to be displayed on the table and enhance the beauty of their spaces.
Khurja pottery has characteristic exotic painted floral patterns, in soothing shades of blue and brown, on an off-white background, which gives it an elegance and ancient charm. A thick slip is used to raise some motifs in relief, creating a three dimensional visual feast. Over the years, the potters have also widened the array of colours to include warm orange and light red glazes, creating variety yet preserving the individuality of the art. Each piece is handcrafted to perfection with utmost care and precision. This pottery is known for its beautiful patterns and timeless appeal, making it a favourite among pottery enthusiasts and crockery collectors.
Making Khurja pottery is a lengthy procedure. It includes an arrangement of the clay, mud modelings, jigger and jolly procedure which is trailed by smoothening and painting of the pottery. After this, the sticker ornamentation and coating are completed, which increases the value of the pottery. The terminating procedure is completed which is commonly done in secured furnaces.
Khurja pottery has been protected under the Geographical indication (GI) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. It is listed at item 178 as “Khurja Pottery” of the GI Act 1999 of the Government of India with registration confirmed by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks. There are about 15,000 people as official employees while about 25,000 unofficial employees work in 500-odd units and nearly 400 factories. They produce several kinds of items such as crockery wares, art wares, electrical goods, sanitary wares, tiles, household items, etc.,
History
Origin of Khurja’s pottery work has been said with at least two different stories. In one legend, Afghan King Taimur Lung accompanied Egyptian and Syrian potters during his campaign in the Khurja region over 500 years ago. In another legend, potters had been moved to the region during Mughal Empire while another version says there we no long historical events in accordance with pottery tradition in Khurja.
However, the author of “Pottery-making Cultures and Indian Civilization” mentioned that “Khurja in Bulandshaher is one of the oldest centers for glazed pottery in India”. Further mentioned, “These potters often call themselves as Multani Kumhars suggesting that their origin was Multan”.
Modern-day pottery manufacture flourished in the 1940s, and the Uttar Pradesh government set up a pottery factory in 1942. Later, the factory was closed in 1946–47 due to lack of quality. In 1952, the factory was changed as Pottery Development Centre. From 1942 until now, some adoption, transformation, initiative were taken by various actors for the betterment of pottery manufacture that resulted an importance role of Khurja pottery in national level as well as export to foreign countries.
Khurja in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh is a famous center for its traditional potteries. Khurja Pottery in Uttar Pradesh, the potter of this area has evolved a style of his own. He has given the craft patterns in relief with the use of thick slips. The tradition is relatively new in comparison with other pottery trends, through pottery itself is as basic form and texture of the tradition. the potter maintains the basic form and texture of the article. There are fine harmonious blends of colors which make the Khurja pottery pleasing to the eye.
The Khurja pottery craft fascinates not only because of the form but also, the texture of the craft items. The potter of Khurja also excels with the delights use of warm autumnal colors like orange, brown and a special light red. Floral design in the sky – blue are worked against a white background. A specialty of Khurja pottery is the pitcher-like form decorated in relief by a thick slip. These water pots are noted for their uniform green-blue glazes with a plane surface, the base being prepared from red clay. Khurja pottery is famous all over the country and is now finding a ready market abroad.
Khurja in Bulandshaher is one of the earliest centres for glazed pottery in India where potters have the monopoly of making highly artistic blue pottery. Today, the art form has been kept alive by passionate artisans who work relentlessly to produce these fine specimens of craftsmanship. Besides decorative items and crockery, these units craft a number of everyday utility items in such as tiles, grinding balls, switches and sanitary ware.
Modernization in the pottery industry has caused exports to rise, so the perfection of these artisans can reach the ends of the world. Professional designers are taking personal interest to renew the art by giving design inputs to potters, thus expanding the scope Khurja pottery and adding a modern touch to ancient artistry.
Years of exploring and probing has revealed the intricate pottery making process. To create the lead free piece of art. First, the clay batter is created and is made into circular sheets. These sheets are again churned to a uniform mix. Now, the mix is made into cakes and transferred to hand set into different cavities shaped in mugs, bowls, etc. Next, the clay form is taken out from the cavity and thereafter taken to the artists who give them colour. After painting the forms, they are left to dry a bit and further sent to Kiln for baking at 1200 Centigrade temperature which bakes the product to a level making it microwave-proof. Thus a Khurja masterpiece is made.
Advantages of Khurja Pottery
Health benefits of clay pot cooking come from its ability to disperse steam throughout cooking. This provides huge moisture and helps to cook with less oil and gas. Since Clay is alkaline in nature when a meal is cooked it neutralizes the PH balance of the meal which makes food less acidic The slow cooking process retains all the nutrients of the food that we cook in these pots If you season your pot properly, it will become durable and likely last for a long time. khurja pots can last up to 3-4 years.
Production
Traditional Indian artwork that is very beautiful and unique Khurja can be reached by road or train. A long drive from Delhi on a direct route has huge traffic and takes about 2 to 3 hr. Time can be saved by using new expressway from Delhi to Noida, then the Dankaur station road to Sikandrabad, which is 40 km from Khurja. Khurja is a very beautiful city it has a mixed crowd of Hindus and Muslims you can see great bonding between both religions.
There are about 15,000 people as official employees while about 25,000 unofficial employees who work in 500-odd units and nearly 400 factories. They produce several kinds of items such as crockery wares, art wares, electrical goods, sanitary wares, tiles, household items, etc.
Khurja pottery has market in India and foreign countries. There are nearly 23 export oriented units. Reports say that production has received around 2,500 million Indian Rupees worth of item in 1999–2000 including 148.2 million Indian Rupees worth of export.
Production process
Preparing the Clay:
All raw materials (dry clay powder, water, Multani mitti, dry sand) are mixed in a ratio (trade secret) and ground in Ball-mill equipment for around 15 hours to get a homogenous mix of clay dough and further placed between pan filter to remove the excess water content and clay disc of size around 1.5 feet diameter is the output of this process. Clay discs are again passed through Pug-mill equipment for the pugging process is done to get super fine clay dough. Archimedes screw in pug-mill pushes the clay, horizontal and vertical gesture. Two types of clay material are produced, liquid clay and solid clay.
Clay Molding Process:
The molding process is generally done for huge products like vases, bowl, and pots. The mold of the required article with the product cavity is arranged using Plaster of Paris (POP). Clay is mixed in a melted solution with no lumps as physical. Clay result is poured into the mold until the clay result fills the cavity in the mold. The mold box is shaken/rotated/tilted gently to avoid air bubbles and excess clay.
Smoothening and Painting Process
Dried products are subjected to a semi-finish process to improve the exterior finish by sanding with sandpaper. Painting in ceramic pottery divided into 2 categories, Mughal art (old art) and normal painting with motifs on the outer surface. Mughal art (traditional art ) is painted with cobalt (Cb)-bluish color followed by a colorless lead(Pb) glazing, whereas another category is drawing motifs like floral or geometric patterns on the pottery.
Glazing process
Glazing is a glossy layer fused to ceramic objects which are used to color, decorate, waterproof and to harden the ceramic. Glazes can be a transparent, opaque, translucent, glossy, matte finish, etc. Glazes are manufactured up from three basic elements, glass former, melter and binder.
Firing ProcessIt’s an action done in a covered kiln. The earlier brick kiln was used but nowadays it is replaced by gas or electric kiln with a temp control technology which is easy for the operator and to avoid the number of damages.