Black-gloss ware

Fine ware that was widely produced in the Mediterranean region from the 4th to the 1st centuries BCE. It is distinguished by being wholly or in part covered with a black slip or gloss, which is not actually a glaze (although it is sometimes called "black-glaze ware"). This ware developed from later Attic production, but by the Hellenistic period (about 330-30 BCE), it had become the most popular fine ware throughout the Mediterranean. It was the first pottery to be exported in quantity from southern Italy by the 3rd century BCE.