Art & Culture

Pottery

Pottery is very important for UPSC prelims. But dont over-read or waste your time over this. You only need basic knowledge which has been provided by NCERT. 

In India, pottery has evolved over time.

1. Age of the Neolithic (10000 BCE)

•  first mention of pottery during this time period.
•  handcrafted pottery, subsequent periods also used a foot-wheel.
• The surface is raw and unglazed/unburnished.
• Coarse grey earthenware produced by hand
• Clay, mica, and sand were used as the main ingredients.
• There are no paintings on pottery.
• Twisted rice husk strands were frequently impressed into wet clay for ornamentation.
• It can be found all over India, even the south. Burzahom is a type of coarse grey pottery.

2. Chalcolithic Period (4500- 2000 BCE)

• distinguished by the presence of numerous ceramic cultures.
• Types
• black and red ware, -  Jorwe ware is painted black-on-red and has a matt surface treated with a wash.
• black-on-red ware, - Black and Red ware pottery with white linear designs.
• ochre-colored pottery.

3. Civilization of the Indus Valley (3300 BCE- 1500 BCE)

One of the pottery traditions that existed at the time was

Pottery with a rough surface includes -

Rough-surfaced Polished Ware Pottery

•  polished and unpolished types of pottery.
•  majority of pottery has a red surface and is wheel thrown, while there are some handcrafted pieces as well.
• Polished items had been thoroughly heated.
• majority of the pottery is polychrome, which means it is colored with more than two colors.
• The majority of the pottery is functional. The bases of such potteries are usually flat.
• Geometrical design, as well as paintings of flora and fauna, can be found.
• Perforated earthenware was also discovered, which might be used to strain liquor.
• Pottery was homogeneous (mass thrown) throughout society, suggesting some type of control and allowing little room for individual inventiveness.
• E.g.,

Harappa Burial Pottery,

Ochre colored pottery (OCP),

Black-grey burnished ware,

Black-on-red ware,

Grey-ware, and

Painted grey-ware, among others.
 

4. Age of the Vedas (1500- 500 BCE)

• Painted Grey-ware (PGW), Northern Black Polished ware (NBPW), and megalithic pottery discovered in Kerala are examples of the period's ceramic traditions.

5. Period of the Mauryans ( 321 BCE- 185 BCE)

• The ceramic wheel gained popularity.
• The Mauryan period is associated with many different types of pottery.
• The most refined method, on the other hand, may be seen in a type of pottery known as Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP), which was prevalent in the preceding and early Mauryan eras.
   

6. Period of Kushana (1st to 4th Century AD)

• The Kushan cultural phase brought in a new era in pottery in Bengal and North India.
• This phase's pottery is characterized by a characteristic red polished ware with stamped design, as well as a substantial quantity of dull or strong redware.

Polished Red Ware

7. Gupta dynasty period (4th and 5th Century AD)

• Gupta pottery shards discovered in Ahichchhatra, Rajgarh, Hastinapur, and Bashar show that the Guptas were skilled in the field of ceramics.
• The most common type of pottery from this historical period is redware.

8. Periods of the Turko-Mughal and Rajput (12th Century AD onwards)

• Turkish kings encouraged potters from Persia, Central Asia, and other parts of the world to settle in what is now Northern India in the 13th century AD.
• From the Sultanate period, glazed pottery with Persian models and Indian themes may be found in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• The modern-day Blue Pottery of Jaipur is often considered as a traditional Jaipur craft.

Pottery is very important for UPSC prelims. But dont over-read or waste your time over this. You only need basic knowledge which has been provided by NCERT.