Bengal Pottery

Pottery is a beautiful art form, which reflects the social and cultural ethos of a society. The pottery traditions of India can be traced from the Harappan age. The traditional pottery both handmade and wheel-thrown stands for its design, concept and execution. The geography, the local traditions, the level of advancement and the requirements of the society all have a powerful impact on the art of pottery.

People whose works are worshiped

Hindu mythology boasts a rich pantheon of gods and goddesses whose worship is an important element of everyday Hindu life. Clay images of these gods and goddesses are therefore in much demand in all the places where the Hindu faith is practiced.

At Kumartuli (meaning Potters' township), in Calcutta, there is a community of hereditary clay-modelers, whose works are literally worshipped.

Here, the clay modelers have been concentrating on the fashioning of images of the principal characters in Hindu mythology for the past 200 years or so-almost since the birth of Calcutta. As a result, a high level of artistic excellence has been attained. Interestingly, all the clay-modelers belong to a particular caste, members of which have the surname, Pal (pronounced pahl).