8 Timing Euxitheos and Euphronios: Energetics and the Scale of Production in the Athenian Potters’ Quarters
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Eleni Hasaki
Abstract
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.
Abstract
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.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Editorial Board VI
- Contents VII
-
Introduction
- 1 The A.G.A.T.H.O.C.L.E.S. Project and Beyond: Archaeology of Gesture and Material Consciousness in Ceramic Studies 1
-
Section I: The Shapes of Clay: Manufacturing and Local Traditions
- 2 What Makes Aeginetan Cooking Pots So Special? Technological Choices in Ancient Aegina’s Pottery Production 13
- 3 Production Relationships between Attic Black-glazed and Figured Pottery 25
- 4 Potters in South Italian Red-Figured Workshops: An Overview 35
- 5 Clay Crafting, Hand Modeling: A Coroplastic Perspective. Case-Studies from Sicily and Magna Graecia 49
- 6 The Manufacture of “Thickened-edge” Roof Tiles between Unintentional Traces and Intentional Marks: The Case of the Hellenistic-Roman Temple in Agrigento 69
- 7 Teanum Ware Pottery from Loc. Cappella Marcella (Castrocielo, Frosinone) 79
-
Section II: Populating the Ancient Pottery Industry
- 8 Timing Euxitheos and Euphronios: Energetics and the Scale of Production in the Athenian Potters’ Quarters 91
- 9 Reconstructing the Scale of Athenian Vase-Painting Workshops 111
- 10 Potters’ Tools at the Kerameikos of Selinous 125
- 11 Pottery Production in Pompeii, Step by Step: From Excavations to Experimental Archaeology 133
- 12 Republican Kilns at Pollentia-Urbs Salvia: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Local Ceramic Production 147
-
Section III: Workshop Recipies and Craft Production Systems: Technologies Magnified
- 13 Magnific Magnification at Locri Epizephyrii: An Insight into the Surface of Western Red-figured Vases 157
- 14 Examining the Red and Black Surfaces of Apulian Red-figured Pottery: Raw Materials and Technological Features 173
- 15 Reconstructing Pottery Production in Archaic Rome and Latium: Integrating Traditional Approach and Archaeometry 183
- 16 Black-glazed Pottery from Locri Epizephyrii: New Evidence from the Technological Study of the Local Hellenistic Production 193
- 17 Roof Tiles with the ΣΩΣΗΝΟΣ Stamp: Calabrian Production in Sicily 199
- 18 Preliminary Observations on the Interdisciplinary Project of Roman Amphorae from the Territory of Ostia 207
- 19 A True Melting Pot: The Production of Cooking Ware at Fregellae, Southern Lazio (Italy), between the 4th and the 2nd Centuries B.C. 213
-
Section IV: From Invisible to Visible: Artisanal Gestures, Ontologies, and Ceramic Networks
- 20 From Micro to Macro and Vice Versa: Technology Studies and Network Analysis on Red-figured Vase Production between Sicily and Campania 223
- 21 The Craft of Centuripe Vases: Techniques, Colors, Patterns 241
- 22 Kerameikos.org and Digital Accessibility for Ancient Greek Vases 255
- 23 New Perspectives in the Study of Western Greek Amphorae 269
- 24 Economic Principles in the Roman Economy: Modelling Mass Ceramic Production and Trade 285
- 25 Looking for the Lost Decoration of an Apulian Volute Krater by the Painter of Sèvres 1 303
-
Section V: Craftspeople’s Mobility and Knowledge Transfer: Distribution and Statistics
- 26 Technology Transfer and Mobility During the Period of Greek Migrations to Italy (8th to 6th Centuries B.C.): Insights from Coarse ware Pottery 313
- 27 Regional Markets and Distribution Patterns of Laconian Pottery in Crete and Beyond: The Aeginetan Hypothesis (6th–5th Centuries B.C.) 327
- 28 Consumers and Vases in Early South Italian Vase-Painting 347
- 29 Hybridity and Exchange Models in Campania: The Case of Ionian Cups from Ancient Cumae 357
- 30 East Greek Inspirations on Attic Black-figured Pottery: The Implications for Clients and Trade Networks 365
-
Epilogue
- 31 Greek and Roman Ceramic Producers: Operational Knowledge and Networked Mobilities 373
- List of Contributors 381
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Editorial Board VI
- Contents VII
-
Introduction
- 1 The A.G.A.T.H.O.C.L.E.S. Project and Beyond: Archaeology of Gesture and Material Consciousness in Ceramic Studies 1
-
Section I: The Shapes of Clay: Manufacturing and Local Traditions
- 2 What Makes Aeginetan Cooking Pots So Special? Technological Choices in Ancient Aegina’s Pottery Production 13
- 3 Production Relationships between Attic Black-glazed and Figured Pottery 25
- 4 Potters in South Italian Red-Figured Workshops: An Overview 35
- 5 Clay Crafting, Hand Modeling: A Coroplastic Perspective. Case-Studies from Sicily and Magna Graecia 49
- 6 The Manufacture of “Thickened-edge” Roof Tiles between Unintentional Traces and Intentional Marks: The Case of the Hellenistic-Roman Temple in Agrigento 69
- 7 Teanum Ware Pottery from Loc. Cappella Marcella (Castrocielo, Frosinone) 79
-
Section II: Populating the Ancient Pottery Industry
- 8 Timing Euxitheos and Euphronios: Energetics and the Scale of Production in the Athenian Potters’ Quarters 91
- 9 Reconstructing the Scale of Athenian Vase-Painting Workshops 111
- 10 Potters’ Tools at the Kerameikos of Selinous 125
- 11 Pottery Production in Pompeii, Step by Step: From Excavations to Experimental Archaeology 133
- 12 Republican Kilns at Pollentia-Urbs Salvia: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Local Ceramic Production 147
-
Section III: Workshop Recipies and Craft Production Systems: Technologies Magnified
- 13 Magnific Magnification at Locri Epizephyrii: An Insight into the Surface of Western Red-figured Vases 157
- 14 Examining the Red and Black Surfaces of Apulian Red-figured Pottery: Raw Materials and Technological Features 173
- 15 Reconstructing Pottery Production in Archaic Rome and Latium: Integrating Traditional Approach and Archaeometry 183
- 16 Black-glazed Pottery from Locri Epizephyrii: New Evidence from the Technological Study of the Local Hellenistic Production 193
- 17 Roof Tiles with the ΣΩΣΗΝΟΣ Stamp: Calabrian Production in Sicily 199
- 18 Preliminary Observations on the Interdisciplinary Project of Roman Amphorae from the Territory of Ostia 207
- 19 A True Melting Pot: The Production of Cooking Ware at Fregellae, Southern Lazio (Italy), between the 4th and the 2nd Centuries B.C. 213
-
Section IV: From Invisible to Visible: Artisanal Gestures, Ontologies, and Ceramic Networks
- 20 From Micro to Macro and Vice Versa: Technology Studies and Network Analysis on Red-figured Vase Production between Sicily and Campania 223
- 21 The Craft of Centuripe Vases: Techniques, Colors, Patterns 241
- 22 Kerameikos.org and Digital Accessibility for Ancient Greek Vases 255
- 23 New Perspectives in the Study of Western Greek Amphorae 269
- 24 Economic Principles in the Roman Economy: Modelling Mass Ceramic Production and Trade 285
- 25 Looking for the Lost Decoration of an Apulian Volute Krater by the Painter of Sèvres 1 303
-
Section V: Craftspeople’s Mobility and Knowledge Transfer: Distribution and Statistics
- 26 Technology Transfer and Mobility During the Period of Greek Migrations to Italy (8th to 6th Centuries B.C.): Insights from Coarse ware Pottery 313
- 27 Regional Markets and Distribution Patterns of Laconian Pottery in Crete and Beyond: The Aeginetan Hypothesis (6th–5th Centuries B.C.) 327
- 28 Consumers and Vases in Early South Italian Vase-Painting 347
- 29 Hybridity and Exchange Models in Campania: The Case of Ionian Cups from Ancient Cumae 357
- 30 East Greek Inspirations on Attic Black-figured Pottery: The Implications for Clients and Trade Networks 365
-
Epilogue
- 31 Greek and Roman Ceramic Producers: Operational Knowledge and Networked Mobilities 373
- List of Contributors 381