Sgraffito Pottery
Sgraffito Pottery was once considered to be the vessels of kings. From the Byzantine emperors to the Russian czars, Sgraffito has been the earthenware for the “blue-bloods” of Europe’s finest houses. Sgraffito Pottery is defined by the intricate designs that have been actually scratched into the surface of the clay before firing. This sort of pottery is often made with bold colors and coated with a lighter liquid clay for contrast. It is at this point that the designs are scratched into the pottery showing the base color underneath.
This type of earth ware can be traced all the way back to the Sung Dynasty of China. There is a vase called the “T’zu-Chou vase that dates to the 11th to 12th century AD. That said Sgraffito can be found in many of the world’s ancient cultures. It became quite popular among the many courts of Renaissance Italy. It is a style of pottery that is fast becoming quite collectible and sought after.
There are certainly quite a number of very expensive places online to purchase this art but it can be difficult to find nice yet affordable Sgriffito Pottery. A lot of these places were well out of my price range. But I saw a couple of fine, affordable examples at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth MA when we were on vacation on Cape Cod. The Plantation is a living history museum where costumed interpreters portray actual people from the founding of the first English colony in New England. In addition to this wonderful recreation they have an excellent craft center where you can not only watch modern artisans, potters, furniture makers, embroiderers and native crafts people, design and create their wares, but you can buy these fine gifts as well. In addition to the plates I bought I managed to pick up a pitcher and a couple of cups as well. I want to pick up a couple more cups as gifts so fortunately the have an online gift shop.
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