Piecing together the past: the history of pottery making

Inspired by Abwab at Dubai Design Week, we explore the history of pottery-making.

A selection of the public-designed pottery creations designed via the Unearthing website, a selection of which is currently being displayed at the Abwab exhibition during Dubai Design Week. Courtesy BShow more

Sometimes complete, sometimes in pieces, pottery is often overlooked by visitors to museums, getting a glance or two before the viewer moves on to the star attractions elsewhere. Yet pottery can be one of the most important and telling records of history, answering questions and solving mysteries about the past.

For example, Iron Age pottery discovered in the Saruq Al Hadid area of Dubai has carved snake shapes slithering across an impressive storage jar, hinting at a possible religious ritual of the time – the worship of snakes. This discovery also gave rise to a theory explaining the etymology of the Arabic word for snake, Al Hayya, which is a derivative of the word Al Hayat, or life – the theory being that the snake was viewed as having control over life and the ability to take it away.

Pieces of pottery act as jigsaw pieces, which when reassembled, can help reconstruct history. “Pottery is an important type of archaeological evidence because it can survive for thousands of years buried in the ground, unlike organic materials used by past societies for, say, building materials or clothes, which are more fragile and do not survive as well,” Tim Power, a professor of archaeology at Zayed University, explains. “And unlike metal objects, such as jewellery, tools and weapons, pottery cannot be recycled and reused, nor does it have any intrinsic worth, which again tends to favour its survival.”

Pottery can be studied to help date archaeological sites and ­retrace ancient trade routes, he continues. “Just as fashions change with time, the pottery made by past societies changed with time. We know that a pot with a certain type of decoration or shape was made in a particular period, and so finding a particular type of pot tells us when an archaeological site was occupied. We can also study the sort of clay used to make the pot, which tells us where it was made.

“If we find pots in the UAE from ancient Iraq, for example, then someone must have brought them here once upon a time. By studying the distribution patterns and plotting distribution densities, we can better understand the trade routes, which likely also carried immigrant groups and new ideas into the Emirates.”

Some of the most important pottery vessels discovered in the UAE are those from the Umm Al Nar civilisation (circa 2600 BC to 2000 BC) and are a window into Bronze Age society.

“A famous archaeologist called Beatrice de Cardi first noticed that the style of Umm Al Nar pottery is similar to that found earlier in Balochistan, on the coast of modern Pakistan, and suggested that the impetus for Umm Al Nar civilisation came from Balochi immigrants who married into the local population to create a unique hybrid culture,” Power says. “Reasonable quantities of pottery from Iraq and Pakistan have been found in the UAE from this period, allowing archaeologists to piece together the Bronze Age trade of the Arabian Gulf, one of the earliest maritime networks in world history.”

This kind of historical significance, coupled with a current lack of regard for pottery, has led a team of artists from Bahrain to try to revive interest in this ancient craft, through a project called ­Unearthing.

“It is aiming to enrich ­Bahrain’s ancient pottery culture by bringing earthenware back to our contemporary everyday lives, by re-envisioning the identity of Bahraini pottery,” Dana Yousif Abdulghani, the project’s curator and programme coordinator, ­explains.

The project was launched in May by the Bahrain Authority for ­Culture and Antiquities, when two designers, Othman Khunji and Maitham Almubarak, were selected to work closely with local pottery craftsmen. A website (www.unearthing.bh) was launched in August, calling on the public to design their own pottery, using an interface on the site. Users can alter the neck, waist and base diameters, as well as the full height and the height from the waist, to create a customised piece of pottery. A selection of submissions have been produced by local pottery craftsmen at the Delmon factory in Bahrain, and are now being displayed at the Abwab exhibition during ­Dubai Design Week.

“Through modern applications and the creation of a user-­friendly interface that replicates the traditional pottery production ­system, the public will witness a ­comeback of pottery and at the same time has the chance to add new interactive ideas to the craft,” ­Abdulghani says.

“The craftsmen construct by hand and measure with their eyes; the user mimics this act on the screen, resulting in a personified, electronic authentication of the user’s experience with the craft. This system strikes a balance between preserving the bespoke, genuine nature of the craft and allowing it to evolve with the ever-changing world of today.”

The online submissions for this project were, she says, “varied and unique” and ranged from vases and candleholders to jars and kitchenware. More than 300 submissions were received, and 100 randomly selected designs are currently being showcased in Dubai Design District. Visitors to Abwab have also been able to contribute their own designs via the interface, which is accessible at the pavilion.

“Our aim is to create awareness of this valuable and powerful craft,” Abdulghani says. “Furthermore, our intention is to spark a dialogue between the user and the craftsmen, which will lead to an ongoing collaboration of reinterpreting the use of pottery.”

Bahrain, once the ancient land of Dilmun and later Tylos, was a hub for pottery-making. ­“Historically, the use of pottery was an integral part of daily life, for example using pots to carry water or in most cases, as a storage vessel,” Abdulghani says.

“Pottery was proudly used as a dependable and durable material. Yet in the present day, it has sadly taken a nostalgic turn, where the craft is simply aesthetically ­showcased.”