sgraffito

American  

[skrah-fee-toh, zgrahf-fee-taw] / skrɑˈfi toʊ, zgrɑfˈfi tɔ /

noun

plural

sgraffiti

1. a technique of ornamentation in which a surface layer of paint, plaster, slip, etc., is incised to reveal a ground of contrasting color.

2. an object, especially pottery, decorated by this technique.

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sgraffito British  

/ sɡræˈfiːtəʊ /

noun

1. a technique in mural or ceramic decoration in which the top layer of glaze, plaster, etc, is incised with a design to reveal parts of the ground

2. such a decoration

3. an object decorated in such a way

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Etymology

Origin of sgraffito

1720–30; < Italian, past participle of sgraffire to do graffito work, derivative of sgraffio a scratch, implement for drawing, itself derivative of ( s ) graffiare to scratch, draw on plaster with a pointed tool; ex ¹, graffito

Example Sentences

The couple made the place their own by lining open shelves with vintage cafe pitchers, old stoneware confit pots and sgraffito ceramics by the Marseillais potter Vincent Verde.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2024

And then there’s Phoebe Collings-James, 33, a multidisciplinary London-based artist who has been making wheel-thrown pots accented with abstract slipware drawings and painted sgraffito marks since 2018 under the name Mudbelly.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2021

In each lobby, the rear wall is a great screen of leaded glass leading out to a covered stone loggia with sgraffito decoration in the classical style, and then to the garden itself.

From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2011

From an esthetic point of view, the crowning achievement of the North Devon potters was their sgraffito ware, examples of which in Brannam’s window display have already been noted.

From North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century by Watkins, C. Malcolm

Of the potter's sgraffito I have no experience, but it is my present purpose briefly and practically to examine the method, special aptitudes, and limitations of polychrome sgraffito as applied to the plasterer's craft.

From Arts and Crafts Essays by Members of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society by Various