Pottery in Pondicherry is famous for its Kottaikorai or Orange-Skin pottery. Most of the potteries have a distinct individualistic touch especially when it comes to salt-glazed pottery. These pieces often have a texture resembling that of an orange peel, hence its name. 
Salt glaze pottery is stoneware with a glaze of glossy, translucent and slightly orange-peel-like texture which is formed by throwing common salt into the kiln during the higher temperature part of the firing process. Sodium from the salt reacts with silica in the clay body to form a glassy coating of sodium silicate. The glaze may be colourless or may be coloured various shades of brown (from iron oxide), blue (from cobalt oxide), or purple (from manganese oxide).
