Chunar, a small town in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh, is known for its decorative Red Clay pottery. This pottery contains delicate designs made with silver paint. A more elaborate variety is by producing a glossy finish using a special powdery preparation called ‘kabiz.’ This powder is made using the soil taken from rice field.
Chunar skills of making glazed terracotta artifacts using the Gangetic red clay has a hoary past dating back to the Mughal Period. After independence Govt. of U. P. set up a state pottery centre in 1953 to provide common service facilities to artisans at the location. However in response to market conditions, most artisans in the cluster have moved over to other categories of china clay, bone china and plaster of paris articles.