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; see 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

Rare specimens have slipped interiors subsequently glazed, with similar butter-yellow color effect as in sgraffito and plain slip-coated types.

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

Archeological, documentary, and literary evidences indicate that yellow sgraffito ware, gravel-tempered earthenware utensils, and gravel-tempered pottery ovens were made in several potteries in and around Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon.

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