 Vase shape:skyphos  Function:deep wine drinking cup  Potter:Hieron  Painter:Makron  Date: BC  Height:21cm

 both potter & painter have signed this vase  they worked together on over 30 vases  more than 600 vases have been attributed to Makron (he rarely signed his work)  Makron mostly decorated kylikes & skyphoi  one of most important red figure cup artists  main skill: drapery (how clothes actually looked)  loved to detail decoration (e.g. Priam's chair)

 All figures named with painted purple slip (by their heads)  Hieron signed his name under the handle of the vase using incision

 Abduction of Helen – the events that lead to the Trojan War

 The end of the Trojan War – Menelaos (king of Sparta) is reclaiming Helen; Paris has been killed & Troy taken.

- frieze bordered above and below by regular meander motif - frieze is encircling but depicts different scenes

 almost whole vase covered with overlapping figures  each figure distinguished by lines of their drapery

 Helen & her two attendants stand in the same space yet are still defined from one another (successful overlapping and depth)  Aeneas' shield overlaps his body (gives sense of depth)  Paris' spear overlaps his body (gives sense of depth)

 Direction action moves from right to left (on both sides of the vase)  Groundline single  Continuous scene goes the whole way around the vase (a boy is under one handle, Priam under the other)  Height of the figures fill the height of the frieze

 Central trio - Paris, Helen & Aphrodite; framed either side by support persons (Aeneas & Peitho); mirrors the trio on Side B of Menelaos, Helen & Aphrodite  Eros - his size and being in the air give a 3-D impression  Comparison - between masculine figures who are moving and the more static poses of the feminine group

 Trio of chief characters - Menelaos, Helen & Aphrodite; two onlookers (Kriseus & Kriseis) on the left  Central trio - feminine figures (Kriseis, Aphrodite & Helen); flanked by two masculine figures (Kriseus & Menelaos)

 Helen - her position and pose mimics Paris on side A

 armed with a spear and shield  he leads the party and is looking back

 has the Greek name of Alexandros  legs are wide apart suggesting he is moving in urgency  looking back over his shoulder in case he is being chased  leads Helen by the wrist showing she is being seduced rather than forced to leave  wears a Corinthian helmet worn on top of his head (not covering his face as it would be in battle)  shield has a lion on it (typical of Makron's love of figured detail)  sandals have been painted on with dilute glaze

 son of Aphrodite  used as a type of symbol to indicate the erotic nature of the abduction (Helen submitting due to seduction, not force)

 goddess of Love  puts a cloak over Helen's head to disguise her

 name means 'persuasion'  flowers in her hand  watching the abduction

 old man with realistic white beard

 maidservant to Helen  ready to help

 maidservant to Helen

 flees towards Aphrodite  is in a frontal pose wearing transparent drapery so that her body is clearly visible underneath

 King of Sparta  fully armed  draws his sword – about to kill the unfaithful Helen, however, upon seeing her body he drops this sword and forgives her  carries a shield with a charging bull on it  contrast of bearded Menelaos with unbearded and youthful Paris - mirrors Aeneas on side A

 sits under the handle  age emphasised by partial baldness and light coloured slip to suggest greying hair

 red figure  added colour: white beard on the old man on side B  dilute glaze: women's hair, sandals (worn by Paris & his companion; shows technical detail), shield (side A – lion on the shield is typical of Makron's love of figured detail)  variations of slip possible in red-figure – e.g. bull on shield painted in full slip; lion on other shield painted in dilute slip  anatomy painted in slip underneath drapery  dense overlapping of figures (new development in creating convincing depth of space)

 eyes are still unrealistic (painted frontal even though the head is in profile)  women's robes – precise details; on the tunics – lines are close together to indicate fine material  slight swell in the drapery of the female figures to suggest movement  cloaks – thicker material indicated by lines further apart; texture & 3-D effect created by dilute glaze  robes – at the bottom, the folds of the material are indicated by curved zig-zags (added naturalism by not all the zig-zags being the same, like the Pioneer group)

 Discuss FOUR narrative techniques used by the painter to tell the story on this vase. Provide examples to illustrate your answer.  ‘Makron, the painter of this vase, is interested in romantic/erotic scenes.’ What evidence is there on the vase to justify this statement?