Cylindrical Flower Vase - Blackstone

Adorn your living space with traditionally handmade Blackstone flower vase from goroots. The unique cylindrical shape of the vase gives it a cutting-edge over other types of flower pots. It not only proves to be a great addition to your vintage collection but also serves the purpose right by rendering elegance and beautiful aesthetics with its minimalist design. The flower vase is matchlessly simple in its own way and perfectly defines the antique Blackstone pottery, practised in the remote interiors of Manipur. Use it by placing fresh flowers, preferably lavenders, roses and colourful gerberas into the vase or go on to add spanking new leaves and twigs to enhance the beauty of your surroundings.

About Blackstone Pottery

Blackstone or Longpi Ham pottery dates back to those ancient times when the utensils and cookware were used by prominent royal families in India, during religious ceremonies and festivities. Hence, also referred to as royal pottery, the art of Blackstone pottery is regal in its own sense.

Blackstone Pottery is consists of a mixture of crushed Serpentine rock and weather rock used in the ratio 3:1. The artefacts derived from Blackstone are not only used as cookware and serveware but also as decorative pieces of art.

The art is a symbol of devotion of the Thankul Naga tribes of the Ukhrul district of Manipur who accomplish and respect this form of pottery as a devotion to Goddess Panthobi and Nongpok Ningthou, equivalents of Goddess Durga and Lord Shiva respectively.  

Procedure

Around 200 men and women artisans the Thankul Naga tribes, who are the inhabitants of the Longpi village of the Ukhrul district of Manipur, ply the craft of Blackstone earthenware with their rich untamed skills.

The remarkable feature of Blackstone pottery is that artisans do not resort to the potters wheel, instead, they use out of the ordinary the coiling method in order to achieve the desired shape and size of the artefact they have in their mind.

To begin with, the artists crush the Serpentine rock and weathered rocks in the ratio 3:1, along with a certain proportion of clay, water and soil.

The crushed rocks are mixed adequately to form a mixture which is later shaped by the use of hands. The final shape of the artefact wholly depends on the skills and techniques the craftsmen put to use.

The rustic brownish-black colour is a result of intensely heating up the artefact to as high as 900 degrees Celsius on cow-dung and straw. It is polished with Chirona and beeswax for a lustrous shine.

Finally, finishing touches to the flower vase artefact is given by weaving the wicker strips onto the neck. The Longpi artists master the art of handcrafting and decorating stunning Blackstone pottery like the Cylindrical Flower Vase.

Region

The art of Blackstone pottery exclusively belongs to the Ukhrul district in the north-eastern state of Manipur. The Thankul Naga tribes are the inhabitants of the Longpi village, which is situated in Ukhrul. The district is about 85kms eastward to Imphal, the capital of Manipur.

goroots provides a concrete backing to the Black Pottery craftsmen situated in the remote interiors of Manipur. We encourage the ability of the tribal handicraft artisans and genuinely support their efforts through our website.