Pottery Techniques

What I like, and wish that I could do.

A few weeks ago, we had an auction that featured several pots, from the same consignor, that all had a common technique used in the decorations: Scraffito.

Scraffito Decorations

“Sgraffito”, is Italian for, “to scratch”. To create the effect, the potter will cover the pot with an underglaze, which is also called, “slip”, and then scrape away the slip (and the clay of the pot underneath) to create the design. Some potters use as angle color for the slip, other’s will use multiple colors, as seen in the pot above.

You can see the tool marks in the exposed areas where the potter scraped the pot. In this example, the scraping was relatively shallow, the cuts only needed to be deep enough to take off the slip. Sometimes, the cutting can be deeper, and it gives the pot an interesting, and profound effect.

This pot is fairly small, I could hold it in my hand and almost enclose the top with my fingers. Here, the cuts are deeper, and it looks as though some thicker slip was applied at the top, and on the bottom, to create the illusion of stone. To my eye, it looks as though the potter cut a series of latitudinal lines, from top to bottom, then, made cuts diagonally across the horizontal lines. I really dig this design, the technique used, and the creativity of the potter.

This pot, show the sgraffito technique, but it also shows another technique called, “Horsehair”. When the pot is being fired in the kiln, it is taken out in a white-hot state, and horsehair is placed on the pot. The heat from the pot ignites the hair, and the carbon from the hair leaves a characteristic dark, “Stain” on the pot. You can use almost anything that is organic, and I have seen examples of pots with the pattern of a leaf on the body.

The sgraffito technique, creates negative space on the pot. The designs are the result of taking something away, as opposed to the application of something that creates a design.

These are all pots from the southwest region of America. I believe that all of the pots were created by Navajo artists, though I could be wrong about one or two. The geometric designs are very identifiable as southwest pottery. There are often figures featured on pottery from this region, and those figures have specific meaning, but the meanings of the geometric designs are unknown to me.

I’ll save my favorite for last.

I love the design (let alone the craftsmanship required!). There is this tightly packed, regimented order that runs all the way around this pot; all in perfect symmetry. Then, a bold, freeform slash, cuts right through the heart of the formation. I really wanted to buy this pot, but it went for more than I could afford to pay, alas.

Below, are the signatures of all of the artists whose pots have been featured here. Artists: Always Sign Your Work!