Kalpouregan – The Only Living Pottery Museum in the World

These women create unique artworks out of dust and mud, which has brought them worldwide fame. Nowadays, using pottery-making machines and wheels are very common, but these Baluchi women create pottery which is famous all around the world, using no tools.

As reported by Mehr News, Kalpoureh is the name of a medicinal herb and Kalpouregan is the name of a village in south-east Baluchestan, close to the Pakistan border. This village is located 25km from Saravan town and 390km south of Zahedan. The pottery made by these artists is called as Kalpouregan pottery.

The Baluchi women use “Tituk” stones for drawing patterns and decorating their pottery. This stone, which is normally black or brown, is a type of manganese. The pottery is mostly in the form of bowls, grails, tankards and cups, and almost all of them have lids which can be used as a different dishes themselves.

The patterns and designs on Kalpouregan pottery are geometrical and remind us of ancient patterns. The decorations on them are abstract forms that have been passed from generation to generation, and they tell us about the dreams and wishes of ancient Baluchi women. They still make pottery in exactly the same way that their ancestors would have done, and what gets drawn on their pottery is whatever is on their minds.

In August 2017, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) assessors entered the Kalpourgan village to examine its potentialities as the first Iranian village nominated for global registration. The village was finally registered internationally in September the same year.

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