Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

What is the shape of this pot?

It is a Dinos with a stand

Who made this pot?

Sophilos, we know this because it is signed ‘Sophilos painted me’

When was this pot made?

580-570 BC

What is the narrative frieze depicting?

The bridal procession to Peleus’ house, the guests all being gods and other mythological creatures.

How has the figure of Cheiron been depicted?

Good example of the pots faults.

• Cheiron is limited by the 2D effect which causes his body to do an impossible twist as his profile legs face forward and his profile head is turned the other way.

• His front legs are human but he is a centaur?

• He is carrying 3 animals who are intricately incised but the harsh black and white make it unclear where they are in proportion to his body.

How has the figure of Hebe been depicted?

• The use of secondary colour white skin on white dress adds variety.

• The intricately incised pattern on her dress resembles the pot.

• However she is limited by the 2D effect as you are unable to see any sort of movement or anatomy beneath the dress. She is static

How had the artists created a feeling of variety?

The artists mix of female and male figures depicted. There is a variety of attire among the procession. The use of architecture, the horses and the chariot.

How does the artist create depth?

The positioning of the characters. Some are overlapping suggesting distance between the figures e.g. the horses.

What is the advantage to using a long thin narrow band to depict the procession?

It allows for more space to fit details and figures. However there is a danger to the frieze patterns becoming repetitive.

How does the artist fill the rest of the pot?

Some of the friezes depict parading animals, a sign of Corinthian influence. Moreover it had finer details such as the tongue pattern on the lip and the oriental floral patterns.

Scholarly quotes

What does Woodford say about this pot?

Sophilos… ‘liked the written word and made abundant use of it’ → Some may argue that the use of labels makes it less aesthetically pleasing as he appears reliant on them to display the narrative. This displays laziness as we should be able to tell who a figure is through their characterisation alone.

Scholarly Quotes

What does Boardman say about this pot?

Sophilos’ style is ‘ambitious, lively but rarely precise’