Jaipur Blue Pottery

Blue Pottery is widely recognized as a traditional craft of Jaipur, though it is Turko-Persian in origin. The name 'blue pottery' comes from the eye-catching cobalt blue dye used to color the pottery. Jaipur blue pottery, made out of a similar frit material to Egyptian faience, is glazed and low-fired. The 'dough' for the pottery is prepared by mixing quartz stone powder, powdered glass, Multani Mitti (Fuller's Earth), borax, gum and water. Being fired at very low temperature makes them fragile. The colour palette is restricted to blue derived from the cobalt oxide, green from the copper oxide and white, though other non-conventional colours, such as yellow and brown are sometimes included. The use of blue glaze on pottery is an imported technique, first developed by Mongol artisans who combined Chinese glazing technology with Persian decorative arts. This technique travelled east to India with early Turkic conquests in the 14th century. Later, following their conquests and arrival in India, the Mughals began using them in India.