Those that have been following our work know that we’re passionate about reviving traditional skills, and love blending them with contemporary pieces. To us the human touch matters --- from using traditional carving, to embroidery and now hand painted tile inlay in furniture.
Our contemporary range of blue pottery inlay coffee and console tables, showcase a centuries old art and craft form of Blue Pottery.
Here delicate and beautiful hand painted tiles take centre stage [quite literally!] and bring almost fabric like patterning to solid pieces of furniture.
Charmed by the Jaipur blue
While inlaying tile in furniture isn’t a new concept...working with and introducing delicate handmade blue pottery tiles to handcrafted solid teakwood furniture proved to be particularly tricky.
The results though have been well worth the effort, a transformation into striking statement pieces of furniture that are both functional and work as pieces of art.
To help bring our vision to life, we worked with local Jaipur blue pottery makers Blue Decor and Neerja International.
[A hand painted blue pottery tile being worked on by an artisan at the Blue Decor studio, Jaipur]
Origins
Jaipur in Rajasthan, India is famous for its attractive display of Blue Pottery, among many other art and craft forms.
Originally a Turko-Persian art form, the art of making blue glaze pottery is believed to have come to Jaipur, Rajasthan via Kashmir. [Source:Wikipedia]
Blue pottery gets its name from the startling cobalt blue Persian dye use to colour the ceramics.
Not many know that blue pottery is the only form of pottery that isn’t made of clay. It is created from an Egyptian paste made by combining powdered glass, quartz stone powder, Multani Mitti (Fuller’s Earth), gum, borax and water, contributing to the fragile nature of this art and craft form.
Traditionally made in shades of blue, green with hints of other colours, more recently colours such as green, turquoise, brown and yellow have also come into use.
As legend has it…
Blue Pottery infact took an interesting route in finding its home in Jaipur. The story goes that Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II attended a kite flying session and watched as his kite masters were engaged in battle with two brothers name Churaman and Kaluram from Achnera (Agra).
The ruler saw that the brothers managed to bring down the royal kites every time. Intrigued, he found the secret to this- that they were potters by profession and had coated their strings with the same blue green glass that they used for their pots. The Maharaja was so impressed that he invited the brothers to stay in Jaipur and teach this unique form of glazed pottery at his new art school. [Source: bluepottery.net - History of Blue Pottery]
Though Blue Pottery saw a downturn by 1950s, it was revived by various art patrons. Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, widely promoted Blue Pottery. It was Kripal Singh Shekhawat, an internationally renowned artist who raised the bar for Blue Pottery. Under his guidance, a new excitement was introduced into to the craft.
Currently, a thriving Blue Pottery industry exists in Jaipur and supports various artisans.
Art, pattern, texture and more…
The journey of Blue Pottery inspires us and we loved the idea of introducing traditional art, pattern, and texture through simple tile inlay into practical pieces of furniture--- to bring to you products that are pieces of art, have longevity and a lovely story to tell.
And here we have the finished products. They are a labour of love involving many talented people and there’s a real respect for the craftsmanship involved.
Our coffee and console tables fashioned from solid teak wood, with an inlay of hand painted blue pottery tiles, not only make stylish additions to your living space, but are ones that are sure to make for interesting conversations!
Hara-Dark teak wood tile top console table
Kala - Black Tile Top Console Table
Neel- White glass top coffee table, blue pottery tiles
Sleti- Grey glass top coffee table, blue pottery tiles
Tell us what you think.