Slide 12: Post-Firing Decoration - Blackening Process

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Once pottery has been fired its basic shape cannot be altered. The clay used in its construction can never return to the plastic state in which it comes from the ground. In fact, fired pottery is one of the most inert materials known to humans. The appearance of fired pottery may be altered by adding decoration after a piece is fired. The applications of colored clay slips, European paints, and hot asphalt are very temporary and will quickly disappear with handling or when the pot is used for cooking over a fire. In West Africa, many pots undergo a blackening process which is actually an extension of the firing and is relatively permanent.

The blackening process is much more complex than painting and may help pottery to resist cracking when used over an open fire. One blackening technique uses a thick broth made by boiling fairly volatile vegetation (seed pods, leaves, twigs) in water.

While the pottery is still red hot from the firing, the potter pulls each pot from the glowing coals and places it on the ground next to a jar containing the black liquid.

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