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  • Sung Pinch Pot in black clay showing small hand-formed vessel with unglazed surface, Lyrnai pottery from Meghalaya India, from WILLAGE
  • Multiple Sung Pinch Pots in black clay showing natural variation in form and size, handcrafted in the Jaintia Hills
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Sung Pinch Pot — Black Clay

$20.00
Shipping calculated at checkout.

Small enough to cup in one hand. Shaped without a wheel by women in the villages of Tyrchang and Lyrnai — the same hands, the same Sung Valley clay, the same process as every piece in this collection. Pinched and pressed into form, fired in an open kiln for nine to ten hours, then pulled out white-hot and plunged into Sohliya bark water. That's how it turns black.The tone varies from charcoal to warm brown depending on where the fire reached it during firing.

Use it for salt at the table, spices by the stove, or anything small that deserves a vessel better than a plastic container. The surface is unglazed and slightly rough — you feel the earth when you pick it up. At $20, this is the entry point into a GI-tagged craft tradition that nearly disappeared before it was recognized.

4.5 × 3.5 cm (approx. 1.8 × 1.4 in) · 60 g · Black clay from Sung Valley · Burnished with serpentine stone · Hand wash only · Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, India

Dimensions

4.5 × 3.5 cm (approx. 1.8 × 1.4 in)

Origin

India

MATERIALS

Black Clay from Sung Valley, Burnished with Serpentine Stone

STORY

Lyrnai pottery is made by women in two villages in Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills — Tyrchang and Lyrnai, population under 2,000 combined. The clay comes from the Sung Valley, a 26 km² area with a mineral composition found nowhere else. There is no potter's wheel. Each piece is hand-molded, fired in an open kiln for 9–10 hours, then plunged white-hot into Sohliya bark water to achieve the black finish. The tone of each finished piece varies from deep charcoal to warm brown depending on where the fire reached it during the open-kiln firing — meaning no two pieces in the collection look exactly alike. This tradition received GI tag No. 1095 in 2024 after a decade-long application. WILLAGE carries this collection because this is exactly what we exist to do — bring indigenous craft to tables that would never otherwise encounter it.

Care Instructions

Hand wash only with warm water. Do not microwave or dishwasher. Unglazed clay is porous — dry thoroughly after washing.

  • In stock

Preserve Traditional Craftsmanship and Generational Artistry

Made from locally sourced clay using no electricity, no machinery, and no synthetic materials. The entire process is done by hand using methods unchanged for generations. Your purchase supports women artisans in villages with a combined population under 2,000.

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