Personal Practice · Ongoing

Multanni
Mitti

Pakistani clay from the plains of Multan, thrown alongside British stoneware. Two bodies, one kiln. The results are still surprising me.

Material

Multanni Mitti · British Stoneware

Origin

Multan, Pakistan

Firing

Cone 9–10 · Reduction

Started

GiR Programme, 2022 — Ongoing

Multanni mitti is a fine-grained clay from the Multan region of Pakistan. It's been used for centuries — mainly in skincare, as a face pack and body treatment. I started testing it in ceramics during the residency, initially because I wanted to use it and nobody seemed to have documented what it does at high temperatures.

The short answer is: it's earthenware by nature, which means its natural firing point is lower than stoneware. When you push it to Cone 9 or 10, the glazes melt and break differently over it. So far I've seen reds and maroons appearing in places the same glaze wouldn't produce over white stoneware — particularly with Crystal Emerald, where the copper carbonate is reacting in ways I'm still tracking.

I use it as a slip decoration rather than a throwable clay on its own — a stripe running along the waist of the pot. Small pieces of Pakistan and Britain, linked together permanently in the kiln. As they already are through history.

Each test piece gets documented — glaze recipe, layer count, thickness of the multanni mitti application, firing cone, atmosphere. That's the only way to understand what's changing between firings. The xp gain over the last couple of years has been real, but there's still a lot of testing left to do.

The practice is ongoing. The pieces made for Cycle Arts Festival, the Kala Topi table setting, and the upcoming Cherry-Vision exhibition all draw from this work.

Small pieces of Pakistan and Britain, linked together permanently in the kiln. As they already are through history. — Instagram, @sherjeel_h27_design_

Next

Project 261 — THUDPUK