Chinese Sgraffito Vessel with Bird Motif

Glossy black pot with bamboo-like leaves and two little birds in white.

This sgraffito vessel with bird motif is from China, and dates to the 20th century. It is incised pottery. Sgraffito comes from an Italian word meaning scratched, and describes a technique of cutting through a surface layer of slip or glaze to reveal the clay or color below. Wide, rounded vessel with a short mouth, covered in a deep, mirror-bright black glaze. White outlined leaves sweep across the shoulder, while two small birds perch low on the branches, drawn in thin white line. It is 7 inches high and 9.25 in diameter.

Black as a piano, and with better company.