Egypt's traditional water jugs get makeover
Two young Egyptian artists established the Shababik project to modernize the look of traditional household items in Egypt's homes.
Egypt’s traditional unglazed clay water jugs, commonly called "ollas," have been revamped in bright colors decorated with modern or traditional motifs and calligraphy. This comeback is the work of two young Egyptian artists, Hadeer Mohamed and Esraa Magdy, who launched project Shababik (Windows) in 2015, to give a fresh look to the clay water jugs that date back to Pharaonic times. Yet many Egyptian farmers, particularly in Upper Egypt, still make and use them. Jugs with similar designs can also be found in North Africa.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Mohamed, a graduate of the faculty of fine arts at Alexandria University, said she aims to design innovative objects. “I wanted to relaunch the clay water pot by giving a face-lift to an object of Egyptian heritage."
Mohamed and Magdy are inspired by Egyptian and Nubian styles and Pharaonic and Islamic decorative arts. They create custom-made jugs, too. Mohamed said, “Sometimes the customer selects the water pot's design and we implement it.”
To create vibrant colors, the two artists use acrylic paint on the outside of the ollas. They leave the outside unglazed, so that the customers can use it as a water pitcher, not just for decoration.
