Jaipur - Blue pottery

My first post on the first day of the New Year....

I thought that it should be about this superb work of art - blue pottery... It is a speciality of Jaipur. 

I was told that the origins of blue pottery could be traces to Persia and Turkey, but now it is considered a speciality of Jaipur, courtesy of it's ruler Sawai Ram Singh II, who sponsored some of the artisans of blue pottery about 150 years back!!!

And they and their descendants have been practising this beautiful work of art ever since....

I had been dying to see this work ever since I found about it during a browsing session... and while we were on a guided tour, I saw the emporium ... we went back there at the first opportunity ...

The display was breath-taking...Tiles, pots, vases, wall pegs, cups, saucers, plates, elephants, mirror frames, picture frames, bracelets, necklaces, key-chains.....so many beautiful things made with this brilliant craft....  I could have spent a few hours, weeks, months... just gazing at those displays... but I showed admirable restraint and just took some pictures..

I also bought a necklace made of some lovely blue-pottery beads...

As I was paying for my purchase, the man behind the counter, whom I later recognised (from the flyers)as the artist of  blue pottery, handed me a souvenir (a marble piece with a silver Ganesha on it and some beads ) and told me that he recognised an artist and this would help me achieve success... 

Needless to say, that made my day... and that one visit was the highlight of the trip for me... though the sightseeing was nothing less than spectacular...