The Indus Civilization (Cambridge History of India, Supplementary Volume) c17.60

c17.60

Meanwhile, a few general points may be noted. The great bulk of the material is wheel-turned, but some hand-made pottery has been recovered from the lower levels.¹ To the later levels only belong the so-called "goblets", small pointed vessels with scored exterior and often coated with a thin cream wash (fig. 12, 3). Some of them bear a short stamped inscription (potter's name?)—the only Harappan pots so marked;² ten examples from Harappā itself bear the same stamp. Whether or no they were used once only for drinking purposes and then immediately thrown away, like the common drinking-cups of modern India, they at least occur in great quantities in late groups. For the rest, most of the pottery is of pinkish ware with a bright red slip³ and decoration, where present, in black. Occasionally three colours—buff or pink, red and black—appear, and, more rarely, white and green are used, apparently after firing. Sometimes a clay was used that burned grey, but whether the colour was natural or was darkened by the admixture of carbonaceous material with the clay has not been determined. The pots were baked in round kilns with domed tops, pierced floors and underlying fire-pits.⁴