Gia Thuy Pottery Village

Gia Thuy pottery village in Gia Thuy commune, Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh Vietnam, is a traditional pottery village with the age of more than 50 years. According to the village's artisans, Gia Thuy pottery originated from Long Thinh pottery. In 1959, some potters in Thanh Hoa migrated here and opened a number of pottery kilns for daily life such as pots, pans, jars and jars. From there, Gia Thuy pottery village was born.

Inheriting the quintessence of the visual arts, the typical cultural features of the country, the artisans of Gia Thuy pottery village have created ceramic products that not only serve daily life but also honor the values ​​of the world. unique cultural values ​​of our nation. The jars are created as a mixture of earth and fire but contain the talented hands and artist soul of Gia Thuy pottery village. In 2007, Gia Thuy pottery village was recognized as a traditional craft village that needs to be preserved. Through many years of ups and downs, Gia Thuy pottery still stands firm and grows stronger and stronger.

To make a complete ceramic product to consumers, there are many stages and all stages are equally important. Even seemingly simple stages that only require effort to complete such as preparing the soil and firing the kiln also require workers to have meticulousness, ingenuity and subtle observation.

Gia Thuy was chosen to develop pottery because this land has characteristic clay, suitable for pottery making. The characteristic of Gia Thuy pottery is that it is made of yellow-brown clay, which is only available locally and only in craft villages. This type of soil has high cohesion, smoothness and good heat resistance. The soil, when collected, will be dried, crushed and put in a soaking tub. Then the potter stirred the clay and filtered it thoroughly through a sieve. Decant the water above, they will take the solidified soil to dry, until there is enough plastic to bring it out. The drying of the soil also needs to be careful, because if it is too dry or too wet, it will be difficult to shape.

It is also important to keep the fire in the oven. In order to produce a beautiful and quality product, the firing stage plays a decisive role. If during the firing process, the worker does not adjust the fire and adjust the appropriate temperature, the product will be deformed, warped, cracked...

Depending on the type of product, the worker will mold the soil in different forms. Usually, to make jars, jars, jars, workers will mold the earth into long and round fibers so that it will be easier to put on the tray.

People who create shapes, flowers and stories on pottery must have passed classes or have seniority. Because when doing this step, you have to draw a shape and then mold the soil into a suitable shape. Each picture on the ceramic vase shows the lively and soulful features of Gia Thuy pottery village.

Through the traditional products of Gia Thuy pottery village such as vases, jars, cups, plates with patterns of Vietnamese countryside landscapes... visitors can not only see the ingenuity and talent of skilled craftsmen but also feel receive the sophistication of generations of artisans condensed in every detail of the product. Perhaps that's why Gia Thuy ceramic products create a unique feature, favored by many domestic and foreign tourists and choose to buy as gifts when visiting Ninh Binh.