Write a note on harappan pottery.
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Harappan pottery :
The Harappan pottery is bright or dark red and uniformly sturdy and well baked. It consists chiefly of wheel made wares both plain and painted. The plain pottery is more common than the painted ware. The plain ware is usually of red clay with or without a fine red slip. The painted pottery is of red and black colours. Several methods were used by people for the decoration of pottery. Geometrical patterns, circles, squares and triangles and figures of animals, birds, snakes or fish are frequent motifs found in Harappan pottery. Another favourite motive was tree pattern. Plants, trees and pipal leaves are found on pottery. A hunting scene showing two antelopes with the hunter is noticed on a pot shreds from the cemetery H.A jar found at Lothal depicts a scene in which two birds are seen perched on a tree each holding a fish in its beak. Below it is an animal with a short thick tail which can be a fox according to S R Rao. He also refers to the presence of few fish on the ground. Harappan people used different types of pottery such as glazed, polychrome, incised, perforated and knobbed.
A large quantity of pottery excavated from the sites, enable
us to understand the gradual evolution of various design
motifs as employed in different shapes, and styles. The
Indus Valley pottery consists chiefly of very fine wheel made wares, very few being hand-made. Plain pottery is
more common than painted ware. Plain pottery is generally
of red clay, with or without a fine red or grey slip. It includes
knobbed ware, ornamented with rows of knobs. The black
painted ware has a fine coating of red slip on which
geometric and animal designs are executed in glossy black
paint.
Polychrome pottery is rare and mainly comprises small
vases decorated with geometric patterns in red, black, and
green, rarely white and yellow. Incised ware is also rare
and the incised decoration was confined to the bases of
the pans, always inside and to the dishes of offering stands.
Perforated pottery includes a large hole at the bottom and
small holes all over the wall, and was probably used for
straining beverages. Pottery for household purposes is
found in as many shapes and sizes as could be conceived
of for daily practical use. Straight and angular shapes are
an exception, while graceful curves are the rule. Miniature
vessels, mostly less than half an inch in height are,
particularly, so marvelously crafted as to evoke admiration.