Algerian pottery, the pottery industry has been associated with the existence of man since antiquity, and it has continued with the same production power until today it has become a kind of heritage precious, and a symbol of originality and history, especially in Algeria; Where it is considered one of the traditional industries that continues to this day. Despite the pottery industry spreading around the world, Algeria has a special touch, as its location along the Mediterranean has given it leadership in this industry.
Algerian pottery, Credit: Craft House
We cannot find a region in Algeria that does not make pottery or acquire it at home. for use and decoration, and geologists considered pottery as a measure of knowledge of time periods and inference In the past, where it was used in mosques and walls, decorating them with colorful mosaics.
Algerian pottery is a cultural heritage and a source of income
Algerian pottery
Credit: Craft House
The Algerian pottery industry is considered a cultural heritage and a cultural guide in Algeria, especially in a number of its inland and coastal cities, where it has become a visa-free tourist destination. The city of Jijel, in particular the municipality of “Djimla”, is famous, like many cities in the country, for this industry, in which women’s fingers are mastered, despite the use of very traditional methods and means, but they adopt the manufacture of pottery for use and trade, where the clay is collected in the mountain to be then sieved and mixed with the leftovers. Broken pottery pots have turned into an economy for dozens of families in this region, which people have inherited from father to grandfather.
Names and forms of Algerian pottery
The names vary and the art forms multiply in the splendor of the distinctive designs that carry the scent of the past and the story of the ancestors, so that the hope of these women living in rural places remains in the care of the guardians for maintain that they achieve the goal, because this industry has long been considered the oldest industry associated with human existence, and today it has become a popular craft and heritage that expresses originality and history associated with civilization, as Algerian pottery embodied it in shapes and colors, through which man was able to transform clay into a solid substance with the help of fire and the use of the wheel which has revolutionized the quantity of production, simple means and expressive designs. This is the magic recipe that has made pottery an ambassador par excellence, since its basic material is red clay brick.
Types of Algerian pottery
- Rural types
It is abundant and concentrated in the countryside, the villages and the tribes; It is considered one of his artistic legacies, and draws its inspiration and decoration from ancient symbols and inspirations. Diversity appears in its products. There are jars, vases, table utensils, and jugs.
Algerian pottery, In Algeria, pottery is an essential component of craftsmanship
This has allowed the survival and continuity of this industry in the villages. and the tribes is the Algerian cuisine’s dependence on pottery greatly; It is mainly used for tajine, oil preservation, milk drinking and butter preservation.
- Town types
This species differs from the rural species in its greater use of decorations and its great influence on Islamic art, Amazigh and Arabic calligraphy and decorative methods, and the frequent use of flowers and geometric shapes.
The coloring of Algerian pottery
Metal oxides have been used to paint porcelain in beautiful colors, including red, black, yellow and others, and each country has a history with colors and symbols, whether made by previous civilizations or the imagination of creative people, despite the worldwide fame that pottery has gained.
Through the ages and the different historical eras, but there remains an Algeria that is not up to the task. with the development of machines and even tastes, several types of pottery appeared, such as ceramics, the industry of which spread to Europe in the 15th century AD, and gray or black pottery (pokorac) . Beautiful craftsmanship and smooth, shiny surface.
Exhibitions of ancient Algerian pottery
Algerian pottery, The black pottery of Tamentit, an African journey | Source: nessahra.net
As other arts (especially painting), there are interesting exhibitions of old pottery to discover artists and new genres of painting. For pottery, we can see that all regions of Algeria once had their craftsmen and their inventor artists.
About ten years ago, in a large room in the Saharawi city, near Ben Aknon, we saw an exhibition of ancient pottery. For each type of pottery or pottery, there is a card indicating the place and the year of production of the article, but without the name of the craftsman.
Algerian pottery, Stamp: a beautiful Algerian pottery from Meliana
When we saw all these dates and the regions they came from, we learned something interesting, pottery is an art practiced in a large number of regions, Tlemcen, Ghazaouet, Batna, Ouargla, Laghouat, Constantine, Vallée du Mzab, to name a few.
