A Historical and Artistic Study

Of
Blue Pottery of Jaipur
Ms. Bhumija Dipti*, A. K. Gupta** and Rajesh Jain***

Introduction : The art of blue pottery came to Jaipur only in the beginning of 19th Century,
and in-spite of not being very old art of the city, it is widely recognised as a traditional craft of
Jaipur. Blue pottery of Jaipur has seen several ups and downs in its life of nearly 200 years, and
once almost vanished, it was revived by the sincere efforts of several concerned people including
Smt. Kamala Devi Chatopadhyaya and Rajmata Gayatri Devi. At present the blue pottery of
Jaipur is a growing industry that provides livelihood to thousands of people.

The pink city Jaipur is itself not an old city, which was built in 1727 and is the oldest
planned city of India. The blue pottery travelled from Mughal courts to Rajasthan in 1562 when
Maharaja Sawai Man Singh I offered his sister to the king Akbar who sent some gift items to the
Maharaja, which included some vases of Mughal art or blue pottery made in Khurja. But the art
could be developed only in the times of Sawai Ram Singh who was a patron of fine arts in the
sense that he could get migrated many artists from all over the country to Rajasthan, who could
develop various arts and different trades in the State, and thus the Maharaja equipped the people
of Rajasthan to meet any challenge against their bread winning and livelihood. In the same spirit,
the Maharaja sent two Kumhars of Bayana (now Bharatpur), Kalu Ram and Chuda Mani, to
Bhola Kumhar of Delhi to learn the art of blue pottery, who (Bhola) worked with and learned
from an Iranian potter during the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar. Kalu Ram and Chuda Mani came
back to Jaipur in 1868 and were appointed as instructors in the Maharaja’s school of arts. These
Kumhars guarded the art and limited it to their generations only, and hence the art of blue pottery
fell into oblivion in 1950’s.

It was after a few years that Padma Shri Kripal Singh Ji, who was trained as an artist at
Shanti Niketan and Japan, was appointed the Principal of the Shilp Kala Kendra of Sawai Ram
Singh in 1963 who could develop the art of blue pottery again with the crude help of Nathi Bhai
whose grandmother used to grind colours for Kalu Ram and Chuda Mani. On the basis of
information given by Nathi Bhai, Kripal Singh Ji could discover that the two substances
(Thamda and Setha) being used for making blue pottery were nothing but oxides of copper and
cobalt respectively. He could also get constructed a kiln in 1965 similar in specifications to an
old kiln found as a ruined structure which was being used for the proper firing of the blue pottery
by the two trained Kumhars.

* Research Scholar, drawing and painting, Tika Ram College, Aligarh ( Agra University)
Ph. (05732) 31877
** Dy.Scientist-in-Charge, CGCRI, Khurja. Ph. ( 05738 ) 42501, 45081
*** Project Manager, RUDA, Yojana Bhawan, B-Block, 3rd Floor, Jaipur. Ph. (0141) 382689
 Although the blue art pottery has a long past and was originated in China probably during
618-917 A.D. whereafter it reached some Islamic countries. Islamic potters aimed primarily at
richness of colours and decoration rather than shapes. From such countries this art reached
Khurja, and that is why an impression of Islamic culture can still be seen in the Khurja Blue
Pottery. But on the contrary, the Blue Art Pottery of Jaipur, in spite of being relatively newer in
standing, was never limited to any space-time continuum.

Constituents and Technology : Once lost almost completely, the Jaipur blue pottery was
revived in 1965 by Sri Kripal Singh Ji with his tireless efforts, and he could become the leading
exponent of this art. The Blue art pottery of Jaipur is famous for quartz based, low temperature
decorative wares and in fact there is no clay used as the major material either in the body or in
the glaze, but it is a quartz body containing glass powder which is formed by the addition of
natural gum to give green strength, which is coated with an engobe containing glass powder and
maida on which painting is done. Using ceramic colours with blue predominating, the glaze once
again is a lead borosilicate frit suspended in maida.

Blue colour was maximum used in the blue pottery Jaipur for various reasons including
the easy availability of the Thamda and Setha which were discovered by Sri Kripal Singh Ji to be
identical with the oxides of copper and cobalt. However, the blue colour was also traditionally
used in the Jaipur Blue Pottery which was initially born from the Mughal Art of Khurja Blue
Pottery.

Basically, Handicrafts are the high valued items in the export scenario with aesthetic and
antique value, and Jaipur blue pottery has realized it in the sense that even today it is a handicraft
totally. The traditional methods are generally employed for all steps like fabrication, finishing
and firing etc., and the entire family of the potter is engaged in the process with no outsider. But
recently some modern units have been developed where the blue pottery is produced by the
employed labour of all kinds for export purpose and employment generation is one of the
functions of such units. Neerja International is one such example, which was established in 1978
by Mrs. Leela Bordia to help the local potters by giving them work on good payment.

Mrs. Leela Bordia, born on 1st May 1950, is a science graduate from Rajasthan
University and got some sort of ceramic training from USA. She was the first to extend the blue
pottery to beads, necklace, pendants and other small items used for body decoration. Tiles,
bathroom fittings and other items designed by Neerja International are being used regularly by
the Taj and Oberoi groups of hotels. Leela Bordia’s contribution to the blue pottery has been
recognised and covered by a number of books, magazines and news papers including Times of
India, Business in Asia and the official magazine of the Bead Association of California. She has
been honoured with a number of awards of India and abroad.

Because of the lead being used in making body and glaze, the blue pottery of Jaipur gives
only gift items like flower pots and tiles and even wash basin for the obvious reasons and the
table wares made of the substance containing lead can not be used. But now, Neerja International
& some other units are making efforts to make such wares with lead free material inspired by the
Researches going on in RUDA and CGCRI. However, due to lead being used in the decorative
pieces of Jaipur blue pottery, such items produced in Jaipur are relatively more smooth having a
rich lustre.

Although the products of the Jaipur blue Pottery are smooth, attractive and eye-catching,
they are relatively less durable and more brittle due to the constituent basic substances used in
making body and glaze. Moreover, while the diversity in the variety of products of Jaipur blue
pottery is very large – so much so that even the beads used in making ornaments like necklace,
bracelet etc. for export purpose are also prepared-due to the presence of lead the table wares
could not be produced in the Jaipur blue pottery.

Surface decoration and designs: A Government Organization RUDA (Rural Non-Farm

Development Agency) is doing a lot to improve the blue pottery of Jaipur particularly in creating
new designs and paintings over the surface of the wares. In fact the blue pottery of Jaipur is one
of the various arts of the Pink city, which have been flourishing with the help of some persons
and organizations. Due to many reasons including the inherent competition, every organized
pottery of Jaipur takes quality improvement as a must to exist in the international market, and
that is why the sketching over the surfaces in Jaipur blue pottery could not remain confined to
flowers, leaves and geometrical designs, but even the living beings like butterfly fish, elephant,
horse etc. and human figures too and even the divine figures like Ganesh, Shiv, Saraswati etc.
may be seen in the Jaipur blue pottery items for which naturally they have to employ qualified
artists. In fact the blue art pottery of Jaipur took some qualities from the Mughal Art in which the
paintings over the surface of wares were having mostly the leaves, flowers, stars and moon etc.;
but the Jaipur blue pottery did not stick to these designs and used some geometrical designs,
living beings, human beings and even devine figures. Through such beautification of wares, the
Jaipur blue pottery could send the Indian culture and ethnic designs of Rajathan to foreign
countries by exporting such Items. Moreover, the blue pottery of Jaipur being export oriented is
also careful about choosing designs for the surface decoration of the products according to the
taste of a particular customer country. Even the state’s local culture can be seen reflected in the
paintings and designs of the wares produced in the Jaipur blue pottery, and the cutting designs in
the body also give the same message. (see the plates No.1 & 2). In fact the first author of this
paper has worked as an artist in a Jaipur pottery of international repute, and although she worked
to design for the transfers yet she experienced that the owners of Jaipur pottery are very
particular about the newer designs, and they do not repeat a design again and again unless its
demand compels them to do so.In fact the designing process was started in Jaipur pottery with
new ideas of Shri Kripal Singh Ji in 1961 that is why he is called the father of blue pottery of
Jaipur.

Most of the painters working in Jaipur blue pottery are educated but unqualified, and
work as a partner or shareholder in a unit ; but some painters are relatively better artists
possessing higher qualification some of whom are themselves owners. Some units started hand
painting with painters called from other places like Khurja, but such painters from distant
stations could not continue for long inspite of better payment simply because Jaipur is a very
costly city. While some painters work on per piece basis, some others are salaried and a few are
either owners or shareholders. In some units of surrounding villages like Kot Jewar, it was found
by the first author of this paper that the entire family including children is involved in different
works of their pottery, and thus some of the children start painting since their childhood whence
they emerge as very good artists in due course of time for obvious reasons.

Creatures and Animals painted over the wares produced in the Jaipur blue pottery give a
message of life; colour schemes in the blue pottery of Jaipur is also attractive and worth
appreciation. While the floral designs are traditional but finer, the geometrical designs are
diversified to a large extent in the blue pottery of Jaipur. Thus as the secondary and assisting
designs to make the piece more attractive and eye-catching, the horizontal bands, wavy and zig-
zag lines, circular and semi-circular loops, bead motifs and check motifs are extensively painted
on the wares produced by the Jaipur blue pottery. (See the drawings given below)

  

Horizontal Wavy lines Zig-zag lines Circular loops
Bands


Semi-Circular loops Bead Motif Check Motif

Blue Pottery production in Jaipur city and the surrounding area :

In Jaipur city there are only two units producing blue pottery both being manufacturers
and exporters themselves. While there are about seven show rooms to display the blue pottery for
trading and exporting purpose, none of them is manufacturer. They take the commodity from
some surrounding villages where blue pottery is produced. Thus Kot-Jewar is a village having a
population of about 1000 people only; there are as many as seven units where more than 70
artisans work on the share basis i.e. they are also partners of such units they work for – like a co-
operative system. Other villages are Muhana, Manla, Neota and Sanganer where a number of
units are manufacturing blue pottery, some of them being run by artisans themselves. (See Table
)

Village No. of Units having artisans Exporting units Traders/

Units as partners Exporters
Kot-Jewar 7 7 -- --
Muhana 3 1 -- --
Menla 5 5 -- --
Sanganer 1 1 1 --
Neota 1 1 1 --
Ramgarh 1 1 1 5

Conclusion : The blue pottery of Jaipur has been export oriented since beginning partially
because of the tourism potential of the city. The owners of Jaipur blue pottery can pay to their
painters and artists as much as ten times than Khurja simply because they may get a good return
from the foreign customers for their beautiful wares. Even some local cultural messages are also
sent to foreign countries through paintings over wares. The divine figures of Ganesh, Shiv,
Radha Krishna and Saraswati are very often painted over the wares to be exported, and the
geometrical designs are also affected by Indian and Rajasthani styles just like leharia design.
However, the initial Mughal art of floral designs can also be seen in the Jaipur blue pottery. Due
to the basic materials used for body making being clayless, the products of Jaipur blue pottery
are brittle, weak and easily breakable; but even then in this age of “use and throw” the attractive
and eye-catching products of Jaipur blue pottery are sold in the International market like a hot
cake. But due to lead being used in the body and glaze, the Jaipur blue pottery could not extend
its production to table wares and kitchen sets; however they are trying to make a lead free body
with almost the same lustre.

Some more and better experiments can be done in painting the wares of Jaipur blue
pottery; ancient culture, different stages of development, philosophy of life etc. can be conveyed
and reflected in the designs and paintings of the ceramic items. No doubt, the designs and
paintings can be capable of giving a particular message, and that is why the companies spend a
huge amount for the design of their Logo which is done either by good artists or good institutions
like National Institute of Designing. Some such designs with new ideas and philosophy as well
as some logo designs prepared by NID are shown in the plate No.3. However, for newer and
philosophical designs and paintings better paid qualified artists will have to be employed by the
blue pottery of Jaipur.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors of this paper are grateful to Mrs. Nutan Bhardawaj, consultant Bharat Pottery, Jaipur
for her invaluable co-operation for this study conducted in Jaipur. The help and co-operation
extended by Mr. Dileep Bhargava and Mr. Rajendra Singh Polly (both working in Bharat
Pottery, Jaipur ) is also worth mentioning here. The authors also recognise Mr. K.C.Singh, Mr.
C. S. Prasad and Mr. D. P. Karmakar ( all working in CGCRI, Khurja Centre) for useful
discussions to make this paper most authentic and informative.

The authors would also like to record the good names of Dr.(Major) Ansuya Singh, Head,
Drawing and Painting, Tika Ram College, Aligarh and Padma Shri Kripal Singh Ji, Ceramic
Artist, Jaipur blue pottery for their whole hearted co-operation in preparing this paper.

The properieter of Neerja International Jaipur Mrs. Leela Bordia took the first author of
this paper to different units of the villages near Jaipur from where she buys ceramic articles for
export purpose; the authors are particularly obliged to Mrs. Leela Bordia for this co-operation of
hers.

The authors are also grateful to Sri Rajkumar Singh and Sri Vikram Singhal (both
working in CGCRI, Khurja) for the neat and correct typing of this paper.

REFERENCES :
1. How to make pottery – Harbert H. Senders, Page No. 17-19
2. The arts and man – MC – Graw – Hill, Page No. 12-15
3. The arts of India – G.C.M. Birdwood, Page No. 20-23
4. Human figurines on pottery handles from India and Allied problems – R. C. Agrawal,
Page No. 5 –7.
5. Dream and Desert – T. N. Gupta and R.S. Khangarot, Page No. 129-130
6. Harappan painted designs – Dr. D. Manchanda – A study of Harappan pottery, Page No.
334.
7. Modern pottery manufacture – H. N. Bose, Page No. 5-6
8. Final report on augmentations of productivity and quality in the production – K. N. Maiti
and team of CGCRI, Naroda Centre, sponsored by RUDA, Page No. 1-5 & 8-11.
9. Practical pottery by R. Horace Jenkins, Page No. 1-7.
10. Inside outside (Magazine) Oct./Nov. 1991, Page No. 165-169.
11. Famina Jaipur special May 15, 2001, Page No. 20-21.