Bucchero

Thus, in contrast to the black-glazed Campanian ware of the Greek colonists in southern Italy, the lustrous, shiny, black surface of many bucchero pots was achieved by diligent burnishing (polishing) or, occasionally, through the application of a thin slip (clay emulsion).

[citation needed] At the same time, in Italy, 'etruscheria' (Etruscan-style artefacts) was in large demand and major digs were organized in Tuscany and Umbria in the quest for Etruscan antiquities.

Although the shapes of Villanovan pots provided the basics for the Etruscan potters, they added new types and forms largely inspired through intensified trade with the more advanced cultures at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, in particular the areas of Cyprus, Syria, and Phoenicia, as well as Egypt.

The potters of Etruria were able to offer their customers a locally produced and less-expensive ceramic equivalent to the desirable but costly metal products arriving from the east.

Some of the Etruscan potshops even carried metalware imitation to the point of covering the surface of bucchero vessels with thin sheets of silver in an attempt to visually duplicate the luxurious imports.

So thin-walled are some of bucchero sottile vessels (in some cases, less than 2mm in thickness), such as the products of the Cornacchiola Tomb Potter of Caere, that it is probable that they were turned specifically for funereal purposes rather than for general household use.

Further decoration could be added before the green ware was loaded into the kiln by using a toothed wheel or a comb-like instrument to create rows of dots arranged in fan patterns.

By the beginning of the fifth century B.C.E., in part due to the growing availability of the elegant pottery of Greece, the demand for native bucchero ware was in a steep decline.