bucchero
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bucchero
1885–90; < Italian < Spanish búcaro < Portuguese: clay vessel, earlier púcaro < Mozarabic < Latin pōculum goblet. See potion, -cule 2
Explanation
Bucchero is a type of black or deep gray pottery that was produced in ancient Italy. It's known for its shiny, metallic-looking surface, created by polishing the clay and carefully controlling oxygen levels in the kiln where the pottery was fired. Bucchero was made by the Etruscans, a pre-Roman civilization of ancient Italy. The pottery was not painted, and its black color extended throughout the fired clay. Because it resembled metal but was made of clay, bucchero allowed less wealthy members of Etruscan society to own elegant dishware and vessels with a high-end, metallic appearance. Bucchero was a major product of Etruscan commerce, traded throughout the Mediterranean from Spain to Egypt.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Etruscans are also known for their bucchero ceramics, pottery they made with an inventive process that turns red clay into glossy black pieces, which they sometimes incised.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Delicate black vases dating to around the start of the 6th century B.C. are examples of bucchero, a distinctive style of pottery produced by the Etruscans.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2015
Even the black ware called bucchero is now known to have been manufactured in other lands and not to be an Pottery. exclusively Etruscan style.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various
Breastplates with overlapping shoulder-straps and belts, broader in front than behind, with decoration of the same kind as the bucchero vases, are not uncommon.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various
Etruria also produced the type of black pottery with a high polish known as bucchero nero.
From A History of Rome to 565 A. D. by Boak, Arthur Edward Romilly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
