The Eucharides Painter Shoemaker Vase c.500-470 BC

摘要

A short, fat-bellied, two-handled, black ceramic vase or pelike [1] provides the vehicle for a stylistic portrayal of an ancient Athenian workplace. The bright orange/ red scene, framed to the shape of the vase by decorative motifs on three sides, shows the interior of a cobbler's shop in the agora (marketplace). A muscular, bare-chested shoemaker (on the left) sits at his bench, knife in hand, cutting a piece of leather, which rests on a block of wood (white). With his left hand he steadies the customer's right foot, which he uses as the template for a pair of sandals. Below his workbench sits a large, twin-handled bowl (lekane) of water used to soften the leather prior to cutting, whilst on the wall, above his head, hangs a tool-rack holding a variety of knives and awls.