Manganese Black as an Etruscan Pigment

Abstract

Scientific examinations of a number of black decorations on Etruscan terracottas have shown the presence of a manganese iron paint slip (manganese black). The blackcolour is mainlydue to the presenceof the spinel jacobsite (MnFe2O4). This pigment is formed by firing under oxidizingconditions manganese- and iron-rich clay slips. The manganese black technique therefore differs significantlyfrom the classiciron-reduction technique. Its main advantage is that red and black colours can be obtained in one oxidizing firing-cycle. The manganese black technique was first used in the Near East and the Balkans (seventh to first millenium). This contribution reports its occurrence for the first time in the Etruscan area.

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