Ceramics · Punjab
Multani blue pottery: the craft behind the city's blue shrines
The blue on Multan's shrines and the blue on a Multani vase come from the same craft: kashigari, the art of painting and glazing fired clay.
Kashi kari is the craft of glazing and decorating fired clay. The word is widely believed to come from Kashan, a medieval centre of ceramics in Persia, and kari simply means work. In Punjabi and Sindhi it covers painted pottery as well as tiles, and the craftsmen are called kashigars. [1] Some historians point to Kashghar, in China, instead. [2] [3]
Eight centuries of blue
Persian potters were recorded in Multan by the early 13th century, and the mausoleum of Bahauddin Zakariya, built around 1262, is often cited as the earliest glazed-tile monument in the subcontinent. [1] Multani tilework also covers the shrines of Shah Yousaf Gardezi and Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Uch Sharif, the Eidgah in Multan and the Talpur tombs in Sindh. Glazed tiles found in 1853 at Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh, in Multan, have been dated to about 900 AD. [2]
The same craft spread far beyond Multan. Lahore's Wazir Khan Mosque, built in 1634 to 1641, has the most extensive tile facing of any Mughal building, and the 93 domes of the Shah Jahan Mosque at Thatta were clad with tiles fired in Hala. [1]
Where the blue comes from
The signature blue is made from cobalt oxide and copper oxide. [2]
How a piece is made
- Preparing the body. The raw material is baked to the workshop's formula, then ground, kneaded, filtered and moulded. [2]
- The first firing. The shaped piece gets a "biscuit" firing at 800 to 850°C. [2]
- Painting. The design is painted by hand. The finest brushes are made from squirrel-tail hair: one Multani kashigar told PakVoices that a tail makes five brushes, and a brush lasts about a week. [3]
- Glazing and the second firing. The painted piece is glazed and fired again at about 1,200°C. [2]
Some things have changed. Gas kilns with an even, controllable temperature have replaced fires of wood and dung cakes, and clay now comes from Mansehra, Tharparkar and Gujrat instead of the local red clay. [2] Ustad Muhammad Alam says he moved to a ceramic body about 30 years ago because pollution had made the river clay unusable. [3]
The masters
Ustad Muhammad Alam has more than 60 years in the craft and has received a Presidential award and a UNESCO award. He learned from Mian Allah Wasaya, and PakVoices names Mian Rahim Bux and Ustad Allah Diaya among Multan's other great kashigars. [3] Ustad Alam's institute sits about 10 km from Multan on Bahawalpur Road, and a TEVTA-run Institute of Blue Pottery Development offers three- and six-month courses. [3]
It isn't an easy living. Craftsmen told PakVoices that large factories have taken much of the market, often paying artisans little while selling their work at high prices. [3] Buying directly from a workshop is one of the few ways to make sure the maker is paid properly.
Hala: the Sindhi cousin
Hala, in Sindh, has its own glazed pottery, painted by hand in cobalt blue, turquoise, purple, mustard, white and brown. A piece goes through about 20 steps, often all done by one person, and is fired in a wood-fuelled furnace for about 20 hours before painting begins. [5]
Where to see it in Multan
Start with the shrines, then visit Nigar Khana, a craft gallery on Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh Road, opposite the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam. It shows kashigari vases, plates, jars and tiles in a chamber about 20 feet below ground, alongside Multan's painted camel-skin lamps. Check their website for opening hours. [4]
Buying blue pottery: what we'd check
- Look at the brushwork. Hand painting varies slightly from piece to piece. Identical pieces with perfectly even lines are worth asking about.
- Ask if it's for food. Many pieces are decorative. If you want to eat or drink from it, ask the maker whether the glaze is food safe.
- Ask about packing before buying anything to be shipped, especially abroad.
Questions people ask
Why is Multani pottery blue?
The blue is made from cobalt oxide and copper oxide, fired at high temperature with the glaze.
Is Multani blue pottery food safe?
That depends on the glaze and the workshop, so ask the maker before using a piece for food. Many pieces are made to be decorative.
Where can I see blue pottery in Multan?
On the city's shrines, such as Shah Rukn-e-Alam and Shah Yousaf Gardezi, and at Nigar Khana, a craft gallery opposite the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam.
Know someone who makes this by hand?
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