Archeologists and anthropologists can only make guesses about the life-style of peoples living in prehistoric times – ie the times when writing had not yet been invented. These guesses are made on the basis of the remains of the dwellings and artifacts left by those peoples.

Next to the type and layout of the homes of prehistoric people, pottery items, dishes, bowls, vases, jugs, etc are among the most useful objects to help us imagine how those peoples lived. Pottery objects are particularly helpful as they remain in good condition under the earth.

If we know, today, something about the people who lived on our land thousands of years ago, when people did not know how to leave behind their experiences and messages for the future generations by writing them, it is because they indirectly communicated with the coming generations through the objects they left behind.

The primitive homes they lived in, the dishes and tumblers they ate and drank from, tell us a great deal about our forefathers, and the customs and lifestyle of the people long gone by. Archaeological findings tell us in
the first place that, as would be expected, primitive people lived along rivers as far as possible, to have easy access to water for drinking and for irrigation of their wheat and barley farms. And, the banks of rivers and creaks provided the ideal material for pottery, ie clay.

When the human beings learnt to cultivate cereals and grains, they found themselves faced with the problems of storing these products and cooking them. They needed vessels of all sizes, large barrels for keeping cereals, and pots for cooking food. And clay provided an ideal material that was available in abundance.

In the beginning, pottery objects were simple and unadorned. But gradually, the intrinsic human admiration for beauty led to patterns and paintings that emerged on the surfaces of these objects. Today, many exquisitely painted Iranian pottery objects are displayed in the best museums of the wealthiest countries: sources of
pride to these museums. Most of these objects have been found by archaeologists but sometimes also accidentally by laymen, in the ruins of towns and villages that were covered by earth, and quite often in graves where they used to be left for the dead person’s use when s/he would awaken in the afterlife. Many a pottery object, a dish, a vase, a statue, that adorns a prestigious museum originated in the land that is today known as Iran, made with the clay of this earth.

For thousands of years pottery continued to be used and was in fact indispensable to the general public, especially in Iran, though during the Achaemenid and Sassanid eras the aristocracy and wealthier people preferred to use gold and silver tableware.

Iranians have shown great talent in decorating pottery objects with paintings and drawings. Some people even
consider Iran to be the origin of enamelled pottery. There is good evidence that, many thousands of years ago,
Iranians began to use the potter’s wheel for making round objects such as dishes, bowls and vases, though, clearly, these were rather primitive in design at first. In fact some such wheels are still in use in the country, being used by older pottery-makers. Indeed, till 20-30 years ago they were commonly used all over the country.

A large number of pottery objects that have been found at various excavation sites such as the Sialk and Hessar hills near Kashan and Damghan, respectively, are painted, mostly brick-red, cream and grey which
seem to have been the most common colors .

The paintings on these objects relate natural or daily events that surrounded the makers:
natural events, hunting scenes, magic and supernatural phenomena. Later, as people became more sophisticated these paintings showed men and women in fine clothes celebrating social events, kings receiving foreign guests, religious ceremonies, etc.

The goat, the horse and the pig are the animals most often portrayed on potteries. One cup, discovered at Susa and dating back to the 4th century BC, depicts a goat with very high horns. Another shows a horse and clearly indicates the importance of this animal to the human beings of the time.

A tumbler found on the Sialk hill, dating back to 330 BC bears the picture of a tiger. Another depicts a snake. Of other natural phenomena, the sun and birds are also favorite subjects. Today, pottery still goes on in Iran and the main centres for it are in and around the cities of Gonabad, Hamadan, Saveh, and Isfahan. In fact less wealthy Iranians still use cheaper handmade pottery items instead of china-ware but hand-made potteries of better quality are becoming luxury item in rich homes.

With the formation of the Art University, great effort is being made to renovate the industry and introduce new designs and thus develop the already exiting but limited export market.