Handicraft in Gujarat initially was reserved for daily usage of natives of the state. The art form was practiced by women to carry out their daily household requirements which was later on followed for generations and transferred through generations. With the onset of time pottery art was a major form of handicraft and revenue recognition.

Pottery is an art which involves molding of clay material into definite shapes and sizes through a series of steps which involves molding then heating at designing with paint and artwork. The pottery work in Gujarat is highly renounced all over the world.  Art is a work which undergoes with a series of steps and requires very skilled artisans. These are used for household purposes as well as for decoration and even for the art collection.

Cultural and Other Properties

Pottery work is dated back since the inception of human civilization as the clay was the most abundantly available material.  Though pottery in Gujarat was not so widely known but with the advent of tourism in Gujarat, pottery work became widely accepted and sought after handicraft.

The pottery work involves making of pottery and intricate designs are made or patterns are painted with different paints and colour shades are used to give it an attractive look. These are given the shape of water tumblers, utensils and flower vases. Designs are breathtakingly beautiful and every variety has a wide range of patterns like glace work, gold work, and several other shades and patterns.

Glaze Work

Glaze work is done on the pottery for decorative as well as protection purposes. It is done by spraying, dipping, brushing and other methods and pasting slurry composed of the water or unfired glaze. This looks beautiful and fills any permeable attribute in pottery.

Gold Work

Gold work is done to beautify the pottery work. Usually a gold powder is mixed with assorted oil colours used. Gold work is done with very high quality pottery work and expressly used as a luxury item.

Stages of Pottery Work

The process of pottery involves stages of clay work. These are as follows:

1. Greenware : This is the stage form when the material is soft and malleable. It can be moulded as per choice.

2. Leather Hard : This is partially dried form of the clay. This stage involves finer trimming of clay.

3. Bone Dry : This is a stage when the clay reaches to nearly 0% moisture content.

4. Biscuit : This is a stage when the material of  pottery is given a desired form for finishing touches.

5. Glaze Fired : This is a final stage when the glaze work is done and the final touches are given with glaze and fired at extremely high temperature to give it a permanent form.

Photo Gallery