Khurja Ceramic Pottery Bulandshahr Uttar Pradesh

Khurja in Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh is India largest ceramic pottery production centre, a cluster of over 400 ceramic factories and workshops producing everyday tableware, hotel crockery, laboratory equipment, and decorative pottery from local high-quality siliceous clay and feldspar, with an annual output valued at over 1,500 crore rupees and export to 40 countries. The Khurja pottery tradition began in the Mughal period when ceramic artisans, predominantly from the Kumhar community, established production following the demand for crockery from Mughal court and trade centres along the Grand Trunk Road. Contemporary Khurja production combines traditional wheel-thrown and mould-cast forming with tunnel kiln firing and glaze formulations for export-quality earthenware, stoneware, and bone china, and the Khurja Ceramic Cluster is one of India designated Export Promotion Industrial Clusters. The traditional hand-painted blue pottery decoration of Khurja, different from Jaipur Blue Pottery but sharing Persian-influenced cobalt blue florals, is produced in cottage-industry workshops for the tourist and craft market alongside the industrial export production.