Sgraffito wares were one of the most common decorative styles for table vessels in the early Medieval era, made in many locales in Asia Minor, Cyprus, and along the eastern Mediterranean littoral. All share a decorative approach in which a potter first incised lines using a sharp tool in/on the vessel surface, and then added a single color of paint followed by an application of colorless glaze. The most common shapes are wide, flat dishes or bowls without handles or stems. The incised contours were deeply expressed in order that the glaze could pool inside, which allowed the designs to be legible thanks to the darker colors. This technique was of Islamic origin, mostly inspired by precious metalwork; Byzantine/medieval potters drew upon the decorative vocabulary of the Islamic world. Sometimes motifs were simple linear patterns, and sometimes they were pictorial, such as birds or fish. Monochrome sgraffitio wares with colorless glazes seem to have gone out of use by the end of the 12th century, being overtaken by highly colored polychrome sgraffito wares.

"Fine Sgraffito Ware"

'Akko/Acre (Israel/Northern Coastal Plain)