Sgrafitto is the Italian word for the technique of artistic scratching (from the verb graffiare—"to scratch"). This method may be used on plaster, on painted works, or (like with the vase shown above) on ceramics. After the ceramic piece is fired once—and a "bisque" form is obtained—it is glazed and allowed to air dry. Once dried, selected areas are scratched-away with a stylus, revealing the raw clay, beneath. When the glaze is fired a second time, the color—and the scratched-away design—become permanent.
The sgrafitto technique was popularized in Renaissance Italy, especially on the ceramic (tiled) surfaces of grand buildings. The technique later became popular in Persian ceramic craft.
The vase above, is German, not Italian. It was made in the Fifties by Wilhelm Kagel (1867-1935). Kagel began his artistic career as a hired painter but left to study fresco and decorative painting at Munich's Kunstgewerbeschule—the School of Applied Crafts. He settled in Partenkirchen where he set-up a fresco-painting and interior decoration business. But, as fresco commissions slowed, Kagel pursed another love of his: ceramics making. In 1906, Kagel opened a pottery studio producing hand-thrown and hand-decorated tableware and artware "in the folk art style." The vase above is representative of this type of work. When Wilhelm Sr. died in 1935, his son, Willy Kagel, Jr., succeeded him.
The smallish vase, shown above, has a beautiful matte lime green glaze. Delicate (and precise) sgrafitto work decorates the exterior. It was made by the Wilhelm Kagel pottery in the 1950's. Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome vase.
More green to come—tomorrow and in the days to come.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.