Kantharos (drinking cup),

early 6th century BCE

These vessels are examples of Etruscan bucchero ware, a distinctive type of black pottery developed in Etruria, where the earliest examples were made in Caere, present-day Cerveteri, around 675 BCE. The characteristic deep-black color was produced not with a glaze or slip applied to the surface, as with Athenian pottery, but during the firing process, when air was cut off in the kiln. The chemical reaction caused by this oxygen-free environment changes the color of the clay from reddish brown to black. As a result of this process, the surfaces and interior of bucchero vessels are a relatively uniform matte black. Bucchero ware was often very elaborate, with added appliqués and ornate bodies, and was traded across the Mediterranean.