Terracotta of Manipur
History
Nearly five millenia later, India is still rich in her terracotta and pottery traditions many of which have their roots in prehistory. This craft came via Persia, when Mongal chengiz Khan had conquered china in AD 1212. There are numerous references to earthenware especially painted pottery and terracotta figures, in the archaeological findings of the pre - Harappan , Harappan and post - Harappan periods.
Techniques Used
In this process, the potter begins with a slab or band of clay mixed with sand that is folded into a cylinder to which the base is added. It is then placed on the lepshun cylindrical platform, usually the trunk of a tree, as high as the potters knee. A piece of thick wet cloth or phunanphadi is wrapped around the open rim while the crafts women, holding it with both hands, circumambulates in the manner of the wheel till the collar is smoothly formed. After it she beats the pot with a wooden beater or phuzei using a stone anvil till it expands into shape with the requisite thickness of the walls. The oar shaped beater is carved on one side with shallow criss - cross or linear patterns which give the pots their characteristic embossed or basketry look. When semi dry, the surface of pots are tediously burnished with kanghil, the seed of a wild creeper, giving them their varnished appearance. Firing turns the shining black clay, believed to obtain traces of iron, into a splendid lustrous orange for a completely black finish the object is smoked in a sealed vessel.
Design & Styles
In Chairan, Shangmai and Thongiao villages of Thoubal district and Andro in Imphal (East), women potters practice a unique hand modeling technique, probably dialing back to earlier than Neolithic times before the invention of the wheel. The products made are surface of plain pots, water filters, vases, incense burners, lamps and hukkas.
Common Materials Used
Clay, sand, phunanphadi (wet cloth), phuzei (wooden beater), kangkhil, sealed vessel slab, lepshum (cylindrical platform)
Popular Products
Pots, water filters, vases, incense burners, amps, hukkash.
