Such was the state of the art when the decadence set in and the work fell into the hands of plagiarists and charlatans. Meretricious coloring and gaudy ornament succeeded the refinement and restraint of the earlier days and so the art perished.
To the inventive power of the Romans the ceramic art owes more than one novelty. It would appear that the desideratum of the early days was a black ware. Homer in his hymn wrote:
"Pay me my price, potters, and I will sing. Attend, O Pallas, and with lifted arm protect their ovens, Let all their cups and sacred vessels blacken well And baked with good success yield them Both fair renown and profit."
The Greeks accomplished this blackening by means of a pigment, the Romans secured a similar result by a manipulation of the fire.
It is well known that the oxide of iron which imparts to the clay a red color will, if burned in what is known as a "reducing" fire, turn black. This is accomplished by keeping the air supply at the lowest possible point and the effect is heightened by the smoke which is partly absorbed by the clay. This black ware is known as Upchurch pottery from the name of a locality in England where large quantities have been found, but numerous examples occur in Germany and, indeed, wherever the Roman hosts encamped.
A second type of pottery is called Castor ware and consists of a dark clay upon which the decoration is traced in clay of a lighter color. The decoration was applied as a slip or cream and hence was the forerunner of the modern slip painting or _pâte-sur-pâte_. This ware is well worth a study. The decorations consisted largely of conventional borders and panels but it is specially notable on account of the free use of motives drawn from daily life. One of the commonest scenes depicted is the hunt of hare or stag, the animals and trees being often woven into an almost conventional frieze.
The most valued type of Roman pottery seems to have been the Aretine or Samian ware. This is a bright red color and possesses an extremely thin glaze. A particular clay was evidently used, but all knowledge of its source has been lost.
With the importation of Chinese porcelain by the Dutch the whole trend of pottery manufacture was changed. No longer was black a desirable color, white was seen to be much more delicate and beautiful and henceforth the endeavor of the potter was to produce a ware which should be as nearly like porcelain as possible. The crudeness of the clay kept this ideal from being realized, but various expedients were adopted and gradually better results were obtained.