Sung Dinner Plate — Black Clay

The largest plate in the Sung Valley collection — 24 cm across, flat with a low lip, and heavy enough to feel grounded on the table. Use it as a dinner plate, a base for composed dishes, or a charger under smaller pieces from the collection. The surface is dark and uneven in the way all hand-formed clay is, shifting between charcoal and deep brown depending on where the fire reached.

This is Lyrnai pottery from Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills — made by women in the villages of Tyrchang and Lyrnai using clay pulled from the Sung Valley floor. There is no potter's wheel. Each plate is hand-molded, fired in an open kiln for nine to ten hours, then plunged white-hot into Sohliya bark water. That's what turns it black. This tradition received a Geographical Indication tag (GI No. 1095) in 2024.

24 cm diameter × 1.5 cm height (approx. 9.4 × 0.6 in) · 600 g · Black clay · Burnished with serpentine stone · Microwave safe · Hand wash recommended · Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, India