Sgraffiato (Italian for scratched) wares played a significant role in the ancient world. This is a very special decorative technique, when the under-surface of the vessels is covered with a comparatively thick slip into which the decoration is scratched with a sharp tool. In this case, the vessel is covered with three colours; yellow, green and brown.
The design consists of bands of square incisions that run across the whole interior of the plate.

This style of pottery manufacture was extremely popular in ancient times owing to its pleasing aesthetic combination of splashed colourful glaze paint and incised Sgraffiato. This particular example is a fine example of splashed Sgraffiato ware.