Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c7.s5.7

c7.s5.7

c. Minature pottery comprises a large number of tiny vessels, sometimes less than half an inch but well finished and polished with exquisite shapes. Specimens of fired clay are quite numerous, but majority are of faience. It was at one time suggested that they were meant for scented oil and cosmetics, but the tradition of minature pottery continued also in the historic period, e. g. Rajghat alone turning out about 500 specimens now in the Bharat Kala Bhavan. It was children's pottery, a kind of kindergarten to train the child's mind and eye in the different shapes used in domestic utensils. The custom for a potter to supply such tiny ware along with the bigger ones has come down to our own days in north India.