Remnants of the past
SUBAJAYANTHI B.
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Celebrating International Museum Day, the exhibition showcased interesting bits of pottery from nearly 4000 years ago.
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Photo: S.R. Raghunathan
Rich ceramic tradition: At the Fort Museum.
Mud pots can be awe-inspiring. They too have a history, and have been around since the evolution of man.
At “The Ceramic heritage of South India” — an exhibition organised by the Fort Museum of the Archaeological Survey of India to mark International Museum Day — pots and vases, bowls and beakers from over 4,000 years ago were on
display.
Three massive urns, each huge enough to comfortably seat two adults, and three other urns a size smaller but with conical lids resembling giant eggs, must have posed a serious challenge to archaeologists to unearth.
For archaeologists, the study of pottery provides an insight into the past. It can provide information on daily life, social relationships, and even attitudes.
Pottery was in use in ancient India during the Mehrgarh Period II (5500 - 4800 BC) and Merhgarh Period III (4800 - 3500 BC), known as the ceramic Neolithic and Chalcolithic respectively. Exhibits from both periods included small vessels and mostly pots.
The Iron Age dating back to 2500 – 1300 years can boast of the Megalithic pottery.
Fancy pieces
A significant find from the Iron Age was the Adichanallur potteries, from a site near Tirunelveli. Fanciful pieces of pottery with floral rims and tall glass-like vases that were showcased in the exhibition threw light on the lifestyle of the people of that era.
In the “Early historical” section (2300 – 1500 years ago), pottery with orange design, technically called white painted russet coated ware, explains the sense of aesthetics and taste for design that prevailed at that time.
An interesting piece of artefact was just six inches long and about an inch wide. The potsherd had the letters Pu-sa-la-khi-ta in Prakrit language. The proper noun of the same means “Pushyarakshita”.
Rouletted ware found under Arikamedu potteries were again bits of ancient clay with synchronised dots in white against a dark grey background. Some of them had had graffiti on them that looked like thin plant stems devoid of leaves.
On display, beside modern ceramic craft tools were ancient tools and instruments used by potters, burnishers and dabbers, each suggestive of the artisans and their nature of work in ancient days.
A potter’s wheel, all worn but still sturdy, lay grimly on one side. It spoke volumes about how pottery as an art and as a profession has survived the test of time. Hope and endurance were obviously the messages of the day.
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