Sgraffito

The word "sgraffito" means to scratch, and, specifically, to scratch through a surface covering to reveal a different colored ground. Sgraffito has long been used in decorative plaster work, as evidenced by wall panels in some ancient Egyptian tombs, but in ceramics it first gained ascendance in Byzantium (now called Istanbul), during the period when that city was the imperial capital of the Roman

Empire. Since it was not the custom to bury pottery with the dead, few wares survive, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact date of the earliest use of sgraffito as a decorative technique in this region.

Sgraffito on pottery was widely used throughout the middle east, with examples from Egypt and Syria having been dated to the 13th century. The technique eventually made its way to Italy, where it flourished in Bologna to the end of the 18th century.

In the United States, sgraffito decoration was popular among the potters of early 19th century Pennsylvania. Most sgraffito ware of this period consisted of designs scratched through a light-colored slip - usually tan or buff — revealing a body of red earthenware.

Sgraffito is an excellent and simple introduction to ceramic decoration, and many variations are possible. Conventional sgraffito is usually carried out on greenware which has been covered with engobe or underglaze color, and is the simplest form of the technique. Variations allow the use of extremely fine-lined designs and designs of several or many colors. It is also common practice to combine sgraffito with other techniques, often to add highlights and accents to painted designs.

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