Three-phase firing

Three-phase firing (or three-step firing) or iron reduction technique is a firing technique used in ancient Greek pottery production, specifically for painted vases. Already vessels from the Bronze Age feature the colouring typical of the technique, with yellow, orange or red clay and brown or red decoration. By the 7th century BC, the process was perfected in mainland Greece (Corinth and Athens) enabling the production of extremely shiny black-slipped surfaces, which led to the development of the black-figure and red-figure techniques, which dominated Greek vase painting until about 300 BC.

The conventional view, developed in modern times in view of a lack of contemporary accounts, was that painted Greek pottery received a single firing, after the shaped pot had been dried leather-hard and then painted. But the firing had three phases, designed to create the intended colours. Sometimes further painting in other colours was added after firing, especially in white-ground and Hellenistic vases. However, new studies instead provide material evidence that the pottery was made with two or more separate firings in which the pottery is subjected to multiple firing stages. The conventional view is described in more detail below, but the possibility of different firings for the phases described should be kept in mind.

All colours of Greek black-red vase painting are produced by the different concentrations of iron in the clay, and the different degrees to which that iron is oxidised during firing. Iron has the special feature of forming oxides of various colours, including grey Iron(II) oxide (FeO), red Iron(III) oxide (Fe₂O₃), and deep black magnetite (Fe₃O₄). Which of these types of oxidation is achieved depends on the availability of oxygen and the temperature of the reactive mix: a high oxygen content encourages the production of Fe₂O₃, while a lack of it tends to lead to the creation of FeO or Fe₃O₄. Thus, the colour of iron-rich clays can be influenced by controlling the atmosphere during firing, aiming for it to be either "reducing" (i.e. poor in oxygen and rich in carbon) or "oxidising" (i.e. rich in oxygen). This control is the essence of three-phase firing.

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