Black basalt, also known as Egyptian Black, is a black-bodied low-fired stoneware. It occurs in both dry-bodied (un-glazed) form and also with a clear glaze. The earliest black basalt originated in Staffordshire in the early to mid C18th but it was Wedgwood who refined it and reinvented it in the 1770s. Black basalt was produced by many major potters in the C18th during the neo-classical movement (including Neale & Co, Turner, Adams, Mayer etc.), which saw a huge improvement in the quality of the ware to include fine intricate moulded, sprigged and engine-turned detail.
   Black basalt continued to be produced throughout the C19th in many British potting centres. Black basalt is often confused with ‘Jackfield’ type wares, which differ in that they have an opaque black glaze over a red or black body and are earthenware. Black basalt on the other hand, is unglazed or clear glazed over a black body and is fired to low stoneware temperatures. The high level of colouring oxides mixed with the clay body, act as fluxes which would cause the clay to melt if fired at higher stoneware temperatures.