Black and red figure painting was at its height between the sixth and late fourth century BC. The technique was a popular process used in Athens to decorate exquisite pottery. The potter would first mould the pieces out of clay to the desired shapes, including the handles, foot and body, then once dried, assemble all the parts together. A slip would be applied to decorate the pottery. The firing was a three-step process, oxygen would flow through the kiln during the first firing turning the vase orange/red. The oxygen holes would be reduced with wood and a second firing would take place transforming the vase to a black colour. The final firing would allow an increase of oxygen and every part of the vase that did not have slip turned orange again creating the black figure decoration.
To discover more about Ancient Greek pottery, please visit our relevant blog post: Collecting Ancient Greek Vases.