Pics: Pottery in Egypt's New Valley revived by integrating modern décor items in craft

CAIRO – 28 March 2022: Pottery is still a tradition in the New Valley (What) governorate, and locals try to revive the craft by modernizing it and making newer decor items from baked clay.

 

Home fountains, wall sconces, lighting units, vases, statues, and giant décor for villas are added to the traditional Wahati items.

 

 

The traditional items include tajins, the olla (pottery water container that filters the liquid and cools it), the zeer (a huge olla), plant pots, as well as the pigeon tower.

 

 

The materials used to the craft are all natural, as pottery in the New Valley, western Egypt, is given colors and textures using colored sand.

 

 

In a pottery workshop in the New Valley, Youm7 spoke to its director Mohamed Abdullah about the craft. Abdullah said that the artists who strive to revive the craft are “unconventional and extremely talented.”

 

 

The rooms in a pottery workshop include “the fridge,” an insulated room that preserves clay, the shaping room, the decoration and coloring room, and the furnace room, according to Abdullah.

 

 

The clay is first put in the fridge o the material is easily molded by hand, on the molding wheel, or in molds in the shaping room. It is then place in the furnace and back to the fridge so it does not “explode.” After that, the piece is sanded smooth. The piece then goes to the decoration room again to be painted on, given colors and textures by sand and stones, and to be sculpted.