In pics: Egyptian potters tell the story of ancient artistic craft resisting extinction

CAIRO – 6 April 2021: If you take the Damanhur-Desouq Road in Lower Egypt, the beautiful handmade pottery exhibitions that decorate the road will definitely capture your eyes.

Such dazzling handicrafts are not easily produced. Those who work in pottery go through a process of transforming clay into artistic product. This creative art is resisting extinction.

Hassan Mahrous, one of the famous pottery makers, tells us the story of the handicraft. “Pottery is one of the oldest handicrafts on earth, dating back to the Pharaonic era, and it mainly depends on the creativity of the maker who spends hours continuously to produce various artistic forms,” he said.

Mahrous sees great importance in developing pottery industry in order to preserve the original Egyptian heritage, and resist extinction.

“Pottery is not a just a job to make living from… it reflects civilization of our ancestors that resists to stay alive,” he continued.

Shawky Sirraj is another pottery worker said that those who work in pottery love the craft as it unleashes their sense of creativity, although its difficulty.  

Pottery industry includes different productions such as: household utensils, pans, drums as well as decorations.

The industry productions also varies from season to another, for example, there are seasons for producing dishes and casseroles.

For pottery production process, Saad Mahrous, one of the workers in the field, explained that the first phase starts by “sifting” the clay from any impurities.

The clay body then will be kneaded and de-aired, then placing it in basins designed to be dried. The final stage includes decorations.

“The Egyptian pottery products are exported to many countries around the world due to their superior quality, because it reflects the authentic Egyptian identity,” Potter Ali Abdu said.