This study means to interpret two vase-painting and document the vases as they are unpublished. The method used to interpret is Panofsky’s three stage iconographic analysis. Different part of the motifs has been analyzed to see if the paintings should be interpreted in a context of wool-working or if another interpretation would be better suited. Kalathoi are a type of basket normally used to store wool and is depicted in the context of wool-working, and both vases in this study depict women with kalathoi. The interpretation is based on the various parts of the motifs, the wool baskets, an object that can be either a mirror or a spindle, a headdress, and the clothes the women in the paintings wear. At first glance there is no obvious reading of the paintings. Because of this, ambiguous motifs are discussed. The study’s theory is based on the idea that pictures have a deeper meaning than simply aesthetically pleasing. The vases are dated to the fifth century BC and are believed to be Attic in origin. Other vases from the time period and of the same vase type and motif has been compared to those in the study. A possible context for the vases is discussed as the original is unknown and who could have owned those vases. The study results in that the interpretation of the vase-paintings most likely is not directly related to wool-working. Instead, they are meant to represent the respected wife’s responsibilities in the household. Wool-working is an activity strongly connected to the household and kalathoi have because of that become a marker for the home. However, the motifs do not lose their connection to wool-work, it has been grouped together with the other responsibilities. The studied vases also were most likely owned by women and because of the history of the vase type in funerary context they are interpreted to have been originally deposited in graves.

This study analyses visible artefacts depicted on Athenian white-ground funerary lekythoi from between 475 to 425 BCE, to investigate what the iconographic information of the artefacts can tell us about the funerary activity and how the information relates to the written sources from antiquity. The purpose of this study is to gain a more in-depth view of the Athenian funerary activities, of which we currently have limited knowledge of. The activates surrounding an Athenian funeral is a complex matter consisting of several stages of preparation and visits to the grave. However, when we are looking at the funerary images, it is difficult to determine what stage of the burial culture we are observing, which is what this study sets out to answer. The study uses a theoretical framework in viewing the vase images as a “scene of an idea” rather than a “scene from reality” where expressions of ideas and notion are what is on display on the white-ground lekythos. The study has analysed the visible artefacts from 252 Athenian white-ground lekythoi and thematically grouped them, then with an iconographical method analysed the meaning and representation of the visible artefacts and how they relate to the written sources.  The study has resulted three main conclusions. Firstly, a possible identification of a funerary activity when observing the number and detailed work of the artefacts illustrated by the painter. Secondly, the importance of maintaining a good relationship between the living and the dead. Thirdly, the contemporary events involving the Athenian administrative changes implanted by Solon and how it could have affected the way the Athenians illustrated their funerary scenes.

This study analyzes the appearance of the myth of Heracles and the Nemean lion on a lekythos from the Uppsala University Museum Gustavianum collection in Uppsala. The lekythos is a small oil vessel generally associated with fifth century B.C. burials. Heracles and the Nemean lion’s commonly found depiction in this context is not obvious on a superficial level, requiring further analysis to answer the question how the motif can be related to the object’s specific context. To investigate the complex relationship between myth and object the study uses the theoretical approach of a myth’s depiction on object’s being highly relevant to how the myth is viewed and consumed, being determined by its context and observer. The thesis approaches the individual artifact through an iconographic analysis and analyzes additional black-figure lekythoi produced between 550–475 B.C. to establish a chronological context of progression in the motif. The study uses ancient literary sources to further establish a societal context. Through the analysis the examination can determine a probable date of the lekythos and a context surrounding its production. Furthermore, the study concludes that the relevance of Heracles is partly based on his relevance in society overall and his role as a figure representing the male ideal and immortality.

Nesta tese, estudamos os vasos cerâmicos produzidos pelo Pintor de Gela, um artista ático, cujo período de atividade vai da última década do século VI a meados do século V. Esse Pintor pertence à geração de artistas tradicionalistas que prossegue produzindo vasos de figuras negras no período em que a técnica de figuras vermelhas é introduzida e adotada por diversos artistas em Atenas. O Pintor de Gela pode ser considerado um artista completo, uma vez que tanto molda como decora seus vasos com a mesma dedicação; ele pensa como um ceramista, porque ele é um deles, consciente do volume sobre o qual ele coloca os elementos da imagem que constrói, consciente assim da natureza do objeto suporte da imagem e das manipulações e rotações que serão feitas ao longo de sua utilização. Em sua obra, o Pintor apresenta qualidades artísticas interessantes e importantes que devem ser levadas em conta sob diversos aspectos: a originalidade técnica com a qual produz vasos em que se percebe a preocupação com simetria, volume e proporção; a capacidade de abstração e ordenação de imagens; a criatividade e liberdade artísticas com que apresenta novas representações e versões de temas desenvolvidos por outros artistas e oficinas contemporâneos a ele. A produção desse Pintor merece uma revisão e novas interpretações já que o que possuímos de publicações dedicadas ele é muito pouco em relação à sua importância como artista pertencente a um período tão produtivo da arte grega. Apontamentos sobre qualidade artística, estilo, produção e cronologia podem ser feitos a partir do estudo sistemático de seus vasos, inseridos no universo de artistas e da produção de vasos áticos de figuras negras. O conhecimento da produção desse artista, tanto no nível formal quanto imagético, contribui para uma caracterização e maior conhecimento do desenvolvimento técnico e artístico pelos quais passa a cerâmica grega, permitindo questionamentos sobre o que conhecemos da arte, tecnologia e iconografia gregas do período / This thesis deals with the pottery vases produced by the Gela Painter, an attic artist who worked from the last decade of the sixth to the beginning of the fifth century BC. This painter belongs to a generation of traditional artists who keeps on producing black figured vases when the red figured technique is introduced and adopted by many artists in Athens. The Gela Painter can be considered a complete artist due to the fact that he makes and decorates his vases with the same dedication. He thinks as a ceramist because he is one - he is aware of the volume in which he creates the elements of image, conscious of the nature of the object in which the image is placed and of the manipulations and shifts that will happen during its use. In his work, the Painter shows interesting and important artistic qualities which have to be considered under different aspects: the technical originality used to produce his vases through which it is possible to notice his worries about symmetry, volume and proportion; the capacity of abstracting and arranging images; the artistic creativity and liberty with which he shows new representations and versions of the same theme developed by other contemporary artists and workshops. This Painter\'s production deserves to be reviewed and re-interpreted due to the fact that all the works dedicated to him are really few when we take into account his importance as an artist belonging to such a fruitful period of the Greek art. Considerations about artistic quality, style, production and chronology can be taken out studying his vases systematically, always having in mind the production of attic black figured vases universe. The knowledge of this Painter\'s production, taking into account both its form and imagery characteristics, contributes to a better characterization and a greater understanding of the artistic and technical development seen in the Greek ceramic production, allowing us to question what we know about art, technology and iconography of this period

Nesta tese, estudamos os vasos cerâmicos produzidos pelo Pintor de Gela, um artista ático, cujo período de atividade vai da última década do século VI a meados do século V. Esse Pintor pertence à geração de artistas tradicionalistas que prossegue produzindo vasos de figuras negras no período em que a técnica de figuras vermelhas é introduzida e adotada por diversos artistas em Atenas. O Pintor de Gela pode ser considerado um artista completo, uma vez que tanto molda como decora seus vasos com a mesma dedicação; ele pensa como um ceramista, porque ele é um deles, consciente do volume sobre o qual ele coloca os elementos da imagem que constrói, consciente assim da natureza do objeto suporte da imagem e das manipulações e rotações que serão feitas ao longo de sua utilização. Em sua obra, o Pintor apresenta qualidades artísticas interessantes e importantes que devem ser levadas em conta sob diversos aspectos: a originalidade técnica com a qual produz vasos em que se percebe a preocupação com simetria, volume e proporção; a capacidade de abstração e ordenação de imagens; a criatividade e liberdade artísticas com que apresenta novas representações e versões de temas desenvolvidos por outros artistas e oficinas contemporâneos a ele. A produção desse Pintor merece uma revisão e novas interpretações já que o que possuímos de publicações dedicadas ele é muito pouco em relação à sua importância como artista pertencente a um período tão produtivo da arte grega. Apontamentos sobre qualidade artística, estilo, produção e cronologia podem ser feitos a partir do estudo sistemático de seus vasos, inseridos no universo de artistas e da produção de vasos áticos de figuras negras. O conhecimento da produção desse artista, tanto no nível formal quanto imagético, contribui para uma caracterização e maior conhecimento do desenvolvimento técnico e artístico pelos quais passa a cerâmica grega, permitindo questionamentos sobre o que conhecemos da arte, tecnologia e iconografia gregas do período / This thesis deals with the pottery vases produced by the Gela Painter, an attic artist who worked from the last decade of the sixth to the beginning of the fifth century BC. This painter belongs to a generation of traditional artists who keeps on producing black figured vases when the red figured technique is introduced and adopted by many artists in Athens. The Gela Painter can be considered a complete artist due to the fact that he makes and decorates his vases with the same dedication. He thinks as a ceramist because he is one - he is aware of the volume in which he creates the elements of image, conscious of the nature of the object in which the image is placed and of the manipulations and shifts that will happen during its use. In his work, the Painter shows interesting and important artistic qualities which have to be considered under different aspects: the technical originality used to produce his vases through which it is possible to notice his worries about symmetry, volume and proportion; the capacity of abstracting and arranging images; the artistic creativity and liberty with which he shows new representations and versions of the same theme developed by other contemporary artists and workshops. This Painter\'s production deserves to be reviewed and re-interpreted due to the fact that all the works dedicated to him are really few when we take into account his importance as an artist belonging to such a fruitful period of the Greek art. Considerations about artistic quality, style, production and chronology can be taken out studying his vases systematically, always having in mind the production of attic black figured vases universe. The knowledge of this Painter\'s production, taking into account both its form and imagery characteristics, contributes to a better characterization and a greater understanding of the artistic and technical development seen in the Greek ceramic production, allowing us to question what we know about art, technology and iconography of this period