Pottery

　Pottery is one of the oldest handicrafts in Sri Lanka. The primarily utilitarian character of Sri Lankan pottery has been continuing to exist since the very beginning of Aryan Sinhalese civilization of Sri Lanka. The simplicity of ornamentation and charm of the elegance of pottery have held fast in the island for more than a couple of millenniums and a half in Sri Lanka.

　　Low fired cooking pots, cooking pans, jugs, bowls, goblets, tiles, vases, are the most widely used kitchen utensils of Sri Lanka. In addition to the kitchen pots and pans, intricately designed products such as terracotta figures and carved vases too are popular in Sri Lanka. Ornaments such as figurines and delightful animals with distinctly Sinhalese characteristics are also produced at the pottery workshops in the countryside.

　　Sri Lanka pottery is turned out by means of a small wheel being turned by the potter while shaping the lump of clay with hands and then oven-hardened in a traditional kiln built of brick. The major quantity of the products is plain utensils devoid of decoration. With the demand for decorated pottery being on the rise, dying the wet clay in patterns and glazing are now introduced.