Barbotine is French for a ceramic slip, a mixture of clay and water used for decorating pottery. In English the term is used for two different techniques but here we are only concerned with the technique used in the ancient world. The barbotine is piped onto the object much like cakes are decorated with icing, using a quill, horn, or other kind of nozzle. The slip is often a color contrasting with rest of the vessel, and forms a design, a pattern, or inscription, that is raised above the main surface. The Egyptians were known to have used barbotine decorative designs. Specimens have also been found at Minoan Knossos on the island of Crete.