BLACK POTTERY OF NIZAMABAD,

UTTAR PRADESH.
( silver engraved carvings contrasting perfectly in rhythm with black pots)
BY- YASHASWINI SINGH
MSc. ANTHROPOLOGY, PUNJAB UNIVERSITY.

INTRODUCING THE STUNNING BLACK ART OF UTTAR PRADESH…

figure 1. black pottery of Nizamabad.

Source:INTACH

India being a country of rich cultural assets and ethnicities has a lot of small villages that still
thrive with their distinctive folk arts. However the respected folk art is less valued in the region
itself than it is across the globe. One such art is found in the heart of the country in the state of
Uttar Pradesh, known as Nizamabad-Azamgarh black pottery. The moment the word pottery
comes to our mind, we assume it just being a mould of clay from a potter’s wheel. Indeed,
pottery involves this but our country is known to add various twists in tastes to make every art
form different from the one originated mere a hundred kilometres away. Not by artificial
colours or paint but this black tint is obtained by a number of steps that the potter takes to
finally produce this distinct naturally made black colour. However, certain portions such as the
spout or the handle are left out as they are cast separately and then attached to the body. The
product is then decorated by incising patterns on the surface for making geometrical patterns.
AREA AND HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF THE VILLAGE…

Figure 2. BLACK POTTERY INSPIRED BY BIDRI ART

Source: jagran.com

The small town of Nizamabad is located 25km far from the Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh
where about only 500 artisans and potters practice this art. Originally, the town is quite old
dating back to the time of the Mughals. The town was called Hanumantgarh that was renamed
by the invaders as Nizamabad. The feudal rulers had called artisans to reside in this town to
make pots, vases somehow influenced by the Persian style. Slowly the talented artisans found
out the technique of adding black tint through ash and smoke giving the rise to the famous black
pottery hailing from Uttar Pradesh.

MOULDING THE BLACK POTS…

Clay moulds and wares are washed with powdered vegetable matter and rubbed with mustard
oil. The Prajapati community is said to have been making these pottery from the beginning and
it is still practised in their community. From little store rooms and in-house Karkhanas to new
full functioning shops in the market area this art form has its own unique journey. Earlier fine
textured clay was locally available easily but due to the course of time and frequent draughts in
the region now the artists have to process the clay multiple times to finally reach to the wheel.
After giving the final shape on the wheel, the pot is left for a day to dry and gain a firm shape. To
attain its beauty, intricate carvings are made through sharpened wooden sticks. Now, these pots
are kept rice husks in enclosed kilns which add the black colour and a unique shinny surface to
the pots. The grooves made by the sticks are filled with a mixture of zinc, lead and mercury to
add the final shine and then the pot is finally polished several times.
Figure 3. CLAY IS REFINED TO REMOVE SMALL STONES
Source: INTACH

Figure 4. INTRICATE CARVINGS ARE MADE

Source: INTACH

Figure 5. COW DUNG IS USED FOR SMOKE FIRING IN THE KILN ALONG WITH
ASH AND GOAT'S FAECES TO ADD BLACK COLOUR
Source: INTACH

Figure 6. FINAL POTS REMOVED FROM THE KILN. Source: INTACH

CURRENT CHALLENGES..

A recent interview by INTACH of the Prajapati family highlighted certain issues that their potter
community is facing regardless the state government’s numerous initiatives to uplift this
vanishing art. With little or no access to bigger markets, most of the individual artisans are
supplying their products to local traders in their area. Due to the fragile nature of the terracotta
products, the artisans suffer losses in breakage and during the storage. The local people use a
lot of black pottery products for their cooking, decoration and day-to-day use. Some of the
products are used customarily during weddings in the area (with the custom being that a newly
married couple should decorate their rooftop with elephants and horses made of black
terracotta). Many of the teashops use the tea cups or kullhars (though these are not of black
terracotta) for selling tea locally. A lot of the local inhabitants use clay pots for cooking, storing
water and building their roofs. The major being the facilities for import and export of the pots as
shipping is a tough ordeal as far as fragile pots are considered. These pots are sold merely to a
couple of villages in the neighbourhood and the earnings aren’t that great. Three hundred
rupees for a piece of art that took days to make is really less and the artisans are now leaving
this profession all together.

Figure 7. VARIOUS ART PIECES FROM NIZAMABAD

source: jagran.com

Lack of proper electricity and resources like furnaces and other equipments have also caused a
major setback in the art production. The demand of local art pieces has increased in the city as
people are bending back towards the ideals of authenticity. Machine work can never match the
brilliance of minute detailing done by men or women. However, the recent years have brought
some light on the famous Nizamabad pottery that resembles the Bidri pottery from Hyderabad.
Originally the Bidri pottery had carvings that was filled with silver and polished.

TO CONCLUDE…

The time of Aurangzeb showed the golden age of this art. The Queen of England while visiting
India visited the shops of this community and praised their art form. Black pottery is one among
many handicrafts of India that is under vulnerability of extinction. At the beginning of this year,
the artisan faced a shortage of clay. The paucity of clay is leading artisan to migrate in lieu of
better employment opportunities clouding the future of this exquisite art. This is my effort to
introduce the world to these crafts so that they could revive these vulnerable crafts of India. It is
a must-have souvenir from India. Knowing that the workmanship to produce this masterpiece is
unique, black pottery of Nizamabad is still in hope to load the markets globally. Not just the
black colour but also the stages involved in refining the mud are extraordinary. Sometimes,
goat’s milk is added and the mud is sieved for days to obtain the perfect clay without even the
slightest of impurities. The Prajapati community of Azamgarh is leaving no stones unturned to
help revive this dying art but it cannot flourish if the rest of the communities continue ignoring
it.