Bisalhães black pottery, typical of the olaric center of the village of Bisalhães in the municipality of Vila Real, is distinguished by the ancestral processes and techniques used in its preparation and cooking. This ancestral process involves cooking the pieces made by potters in open ovens on the earth, where broom, pine needles and gorse are burned and then smothered with earth that, mixed with the smoke, gives the clay pieces a black color. The process of making Bisalhães pottery dates back at least to the 16th century.

The production process for Bisalhães Black Pottery was declared UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage on November 29, 2016 during the meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Producer: Olaria Ramalho
Characteristics: cooking in the oven
Format: Unit