Home / Bazaar / Punjab / Multani blue pottery
For the home · Gifts
Hand-painted glazed ceramics
Cobalt and turquoise on white, the colours of Multan’s shrines.
$25–120
Find Multani blue pottery on Etsy ↗If you buy through this link we may earn a small commission. It never changes your price.
The story
Multan’s shrines and mosques are dressed in blue and white glazed tiles. The craft is known as kashigari, and the same painters make vases, plates, lamps and tiles for homes.
Every piece is painted freehand. The flowers are never quite the same twice.
In pictures
Photos coming soon. Each frame below says what it will show.
History
Glazed tilework arrived in the region with Persian and Central Asian influence centuries ago. Multan kept the tradition alive, and its blue and white work now appears across Pakistan.
How it’s made
Pieces are thrown on a wheel or pressed in moulds.
Once dry, the piece is covered with a white base.
Painters apply cobalt blue and turquoise designs with brushes.
A clear glaze is added and the piece is fired in a kiln.
Kinds
The most popular souvenirs.
Decorative, sometimes food-safe.
For kitchens, walls and table tops.
Pierced or painted lamp bases.
In Pakistan
You see it on shrine walls, in restaurant interiors and on dining tables across Punjab.
Buy it well
| Genuine | Likely a copy |
|---|---|
| Brush strokes you can see | Printed decal with perfect edges |
| Each flower slightly different | Identical repeated motifs |
Where to buy
We may earn a small commission. Your price is the same.
Find Multani blue pottery on Etsy ↗Typical price: $25–120, before shipping. Read the “Buy it well” checks above before you order, and ask the seller for photos of the exact piece.
Questions
Usually not. Treat it as decorative unless the seller says otherwise.
Yes, many workshops take custom tile orders.
Keep exploring
Hand-carved wooden furniture and boxes
Deep floral carving in dark wood, from a town of woodcarvers.
Pakistan’s famous summer mangoes
Sweet, fibre-free and fragrant: the mango Pakistanis argue is the best in the world.
Painted lamp made from camel hide
Translucent hide painted in gold, lit from within.
Dense sweet made with ghee and nuts
Multan’s dense, nutty sweet, sold in round tins.
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