When you mention Indian pottery, it's all about explosion of vibrant and flamboyant colours. Indeed, bright colours are omnipresent in Indian crafts. They are everywhere; on all handicrafts, on all architectural buildings, and are even found in the majority of Indian dishes and cuisines.
Moreover, they have such an important place in Indian society that there is a festival of Hindu origin which aims to honour them: Holi, the festival of colours. During this celebration, all Indians are invited to go out and celebrate in the streets and bring coloured powder or tinted water balloons to create explosions of colour that are sure to put a smile on every face. All of these colours each have a very special meaning within Indian culture. Here are some of these symbolisms.
We find mostly white and blue in the blue pottery of Jaipur. White mainly represents peace, purity, superiority. Its calm presence. Likewise, blue represents the struggle against evil, the attainment of truth, and courage. However, blue is associated with the caste of craftsmen and farmers and is sometimes considered impure. Its wearing is even forbidden to certain castes. However, this does not prevent it from being the most prevalent colour on ceramic products in India.
Elsewhere in India, there is a lot of pottery adorned with orange, yellow, red and green. Orange is originally associated with fire. In India, it is the colour of warriors. Mixed with white and blue, the symbolism of purity and courage is then reinforced. Yellow is associated with spirituality, sun and light. It is a colour that has a strong symbolism and that pays homage to education, self-knowledge and meditation.
Red is the colour of happiness, of love, of achieving projects. Moreover, it is not uncommon to see newlyweds dressed in red or to see them being offered gifts of red crockery or pottery as a symbol of good luck. Finally, green, which is rarer on Indian pottery, is the symbol of celebration, hope and pleasure; married to orange, the result promises to be explosive!
All in all, directly linked to joy, happiness, auspiciousness, the colourful universe of Indian pottery is reminiscent of the most famous religions in India, namely Hinduism and Buddhism, which both evolve in the same direction. One thing is certain, the explosions of colour from the pieces of pottery from Khurja and Jaipur will never fail to put a smile on your face!