Terra sigillata

Also called Samian pottery, terra sigillata is a Mediterranean ceramic ware decorated with relief figures, first produced about 300 BCE, having evolved from the Etruscan's black pottery called bucchero ware. "Terra sigillata" is Latin, literally meaning "stamped earth." It was fired in an oxidizing atmosphere. The finest examples of terra sigillata, known as Arretine ware, were made at what is now the Italian town of Arezzo.