Timing Euxitheos and Euphronios: Energetics and the scale of production in the Athenian potters' quarters

Scholars have utilized various proxies to estimate the organization and size of workforce employed in the workshops of figured pottery, a niche sector of the entire ceramic industry. In this study an energetics approach is used to estimate the time Athenian potters and painters invested in forming and decorating major types of shapes. The focus piece for this approach is the red-figured Sarpedon krater by the potter Euxitheos and the painter Euphronios, produced in Archaic Athens (ca. 515 B.C.). Drawing on evidence from ethnoarchaeological data to semi-structured interviews with active vase-painters in Greece and Italy, I estimated a total time for potting, painting, and firing this labor-intensive vessel. Energetics invite us to carefully examine all steps included in the potting and painting processes and to appreciate the embodied knowledge of potter and painter in terms of forming techniques, tools for decoration, slip preparation, positioning of the vessel on and off the wheel, and the careful monitoring of firing. Required drying times are of crucial importance, accounting for more than half of the production time. Workshop energetics can shed light on the organization of production, shared specialized knowledge of the workforce, the transfer of knowledge in apprenticeships, and supply- and-demand estimates, so that we can formulate a more balanced view of this sector of the ancient economy.