Plate, 19th century, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sgraffito (from the Italian sgraffito, "to scratch") is a technique for decorating ceramics by applying one or more layers of color and then scraping off part of the layer or layers to create patterns and emphasize texture. As early as ancient Greece, sgraffito was used to decorate pottery. Later, sgraffito spread to Italy, where it was used to decorate walls. The modern sgraffito technique is used to decorate walls indoors and outdoors, as well as to work with ceramics. The technique of making wall sgraffito is quite simple. To create a two-color sgraffito, the first layer of plaster is applied to the prepared and painted wall. The colors of the plaster and the base should be different. The plaster is then scraped off in some places, drawing a specific pattern. In this way, a two-tone pattern is created.