Pottery or ‘Sofalgari’ is one the most acclaimed and renowned, traditional handicrafts of Iran which that refer to the art of making different kinds of pottery and crockery of baked clay such as bowls and jars. The kind of pottery without glaze is called “biscuit pottery (Sofal)”. Iranian ‘Sofal’ or earthenware is made of ‘secondary soils’ (secondary soils are those not fixed in one place but moving all the time.
Pottery or ‘Sofalgari’ is one the most acclaimed and renowned, traditional handicrafts of Iran which that refer to the art of making different kinds of pottery and crockery of baked clay such as bowls and jars. The kind of pottery without glaze is called “biscuit pottery (Sofal)”. Iranian ‘Sofal’ or earthenware is made of ‘secondary soils’ (secondary soils are those not fixed in one place but moving all the time. therefore, have less purity and stickiness and are baked in the heat of 950 to 1000 degrees centigrade. The most important secondary soil is clay, whose natural color varies from buff to red.The English term ceramic contains the exact meaning of ‘Sofāl’ in Persian which is produced in most provinces of Iran such as Hamadān, Tehrān, Qom, Esfehān, Yazd, Gīlān, Māzandarān etc.
The history of the art of pottery in Iran goes back into ancient time. When agriculture came into existence and cultivation started on Iran's plateau by primitive races of this land, people made utensils of baked clay in order to meet their needs.
Iranian pottery (sometimes known as gombroon) production presents a continuous history from the beginning of Iranian history until the present day. Fingerprints of primitives in Iran can be seen on relics. The first earthenware was mainly of two types: black utensils and red ones, both were hardly complicated products. Gradually simple earthenware was decorated with by geometric designs. Studying the designs shows us that ancient Iranians were skillful also in designing earthenware and represented their works in a lively and gracious manner. Iran can be called the birthplace of designed earthenware utensils. Designing earthenware in Iran started about 4,000 BC.
Earthenware of those times had been baked more carefully in newly-made kilns. Shapes and forms of these potteries indicate invention of the pottery rotating instrument may be of that time. Artists produced a variety of utensils like piped pots, bowls and jars to store corn and grain. Among excavated potteries belonging to those eras, some primitive earthen statues in the form of animals and birds have also been found which presumably had ornamental value more than anything else.
In Iran pottery manufacture has a long and brilliant history. Due to the special geographical position of the country, being at the crossroads of ancient civilizations and on important caravan routes, almost every part of Iran was, at times, involved in pottery making. Yet, recent excavations and archaeological research revealed that there were four major pottery-manufacturing areas in the Iranian plateau. These included the western part of the country, namely the area west of the Zagros mountains (Lurestan), and the area south of the Caspian Sea (Gilan and Mazandaran provinces). These two areas are chronologically as far as is known today, the earliest. The third region is located in the northwestern part of the country, in Azarbaijan province. The fourth area is in the southeast, i.e. the Kerman region and Baluchestan. To these four regions one may also add the Kavir area, where the history of pottery making can be dated back to the 8th millennium BCE.