page_title: Pottery in the Indian subcontinent
section_title: Northern Black Polished Ware
hierarchical_section_title: Pottery in the Indian subcontinent / History / Northern Black Polished Ware
caption_attribution_description: English: Sources: Basant, P. K. (2012), The City and the Country in Early India: A Study of Malwa, New Delhi: Primus Books, ISBN&#160;9789380607153 Kenoyer, J. M. (1995), “Interaction Systems, Specialised Crafts and Culture Change: The Indus Valley Tradition and the Indo-Gangetic Tradition in South Asia”, in G. Erdosy, The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture, and Ethnicity, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, ISBN&#160;9783110144475 Singh, U. (2009), A History of Ancient and Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Delhi: Longman, ISBN&#160;978-81-317-1677-9 Witzel, M. (2010), Das alte Indien, München: Beck, ISBN&#160;9783406597176 Background from http://www2.demis.nl/mapserver/mapper.asp Made with GIMP
context_page_description: Pottery in the Indian subcontinent has an ancient history and is one of the most tangible and iconic elements of Indian art. Evidence of pottery has been found in the early settlements of Lahuradewa and later the Indus Valley Civilization. Today, it is a cultural art that is still practiced extensively in Indian subcontinent. Until recent times all Indian pottery has been earthenware, including terracotta.
  Hindu traditions historically discouraged the use of pottery for eating off, which probably explains the noticeable lack of traditions of fine or luxury pottery in South Asia, in contrast to East Asia and other parts of Eurasia. Large matki jars for the storage of water or other things form the largest part of traditional Indian pottery, as well as objects such as lamps. Small simple kulhar cups, and also oil lamps, that are disposable after a single use remain common. Today, pottery thrives as an art form in India. Various platforms, including potters' markets and online pottery boutiques have contributed to this trend.
context_section_description: Northern Black Polished Ware (abbreviated NBPW or NBP) is an urban Iron Age culture of the Indian Subcontinent, lasting c. 700–200 BCE, succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture and Black and red ware culture. It developed beginning around 700 BC, in the late Vedic period, and peaked from c. 500–300 BC, coinciding with the emergence of 16 great states or mahajanapadas in Northern India, and the subsequent rise of the Mauryan Empire.
caption: Map of some NBPW sites.
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