Pottery

Pottery is a profession connected with special forming and especially burning of the clay. Pottery covers three directions of the production:

Manufacture of ordinary construction bricks; manufacture of different clay dishes and manufacture items (fireproof brick, tiles, faience pipe etc); manufacture of faience and porcelain items.

Pottery is one of the oldest areas of handicraft in Azerbaijan and has kept importance up to this day. Specialists refer appearance of this art to the Neolithic Age. The pottery which was an area of engagement of women earlier, turned to the independent art (profession) in the result of a number of technical achievements applied in the Eneolite age.

Starting from the end of Middle Ages pottery manufacture had reached high-level in Azerbaijan. During the rising period continued till Mongol occupation the strong qualitative and quantitative changes occurred in pottery art. Appearance of the wheel driven by foot, starting of manufacture of glazed plates in various pottery centers, applying of potter\'s ashes had created more suitable conditions for manufacture of porcelain items.

At this period the area of spreading of faience plates possibly covered all cities and provinces of Azerbaijan. At result of archeological excavations in many settlements including in Beylagan many materials proving high-level production of plates with glaze or without in Azerbaijan have been found out.

Archives documents and other written sources of khanate period inform about manufacture of faience items in Shamakhy, Shaki, Ardabil, Tabriz, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Ordubad and other cities of Azerbaijan. It is clear from information that they were preparing clay plates in the some villages of the Shaki khanate and Nukha. Just in Shaki city the number of manufacturers of faience sahang (big water jug) jar was 29 persons.

Information about faience plates in Nakhchivan khanate was more than in other khanates. But in most cases these information repeat each other. 12 persons potter used to work in the time of occupation the Nakhchivan khanate by Russia in each of the cities of Nakhchivan and Ordubad. One of potter workshops in Ordubad was located in useless Karvansara. There is information about activity of workshop manufacturing faience sahang at Tazakend settlement of Nakhchivan khanate belonging to Nakhichivani governor Ehjan khan.

There is probability of existing in Baku of the pottery manufacture, too. Different kind of clay fields in the suburb of city was creating conditions for manufacture of faience items here. Excavations carried out  by V.N.Leviatov in castle side of the city in 1946  had found many  glazed plates, dishes, vessels belonging to XVII-XVIII centuries, which were of local manufacture .

This art lives in Ganja, which has been one of basic centers of the manufacture of faience plates during of all the Middle Ages, too. Products of the Ganja potters are appreciated in one of sources and they were characterized as masters knowing well their job”. Excellent kinds of clay from surroundings territories were processed in two big workshops of the city and then turned to faience items of high quality.

Cities of Tabriz and Ardabil were continuing to keep the positions of basic centers of the pottery manufacture, too. Availablity of rich clay fields at surroundings of the cities was creating suitable conditions for manufacture of the faience items. During the khanates time the manufacture of faience items was engagement of villages. 

Kuzakunan village near to Tabriz, gained at earlier periods a reputation in manufacture of faience plates was continuing these traditions in the khanates time, too. Faience plates of different sizes were manufactured in Jajin village of Ardebil, Talyish kishlaqi, Dovlatabad. 

Basic centers of the manufacture of faience plates in Guba khanate was villages of Yenikand, Ispik and Mohuj.