Master of the Judgement of Paris, 'The Abduction of Helen', about 1440-50

A dramatic tale of love and war unfolds on this 12-sided birthing tray. These panels are called deschi da parto in Italian. They were used to bring food and gifts to new mothers during and after childbirth. They were often decorated with stories from classical literature. This one shows the famous abduction of Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, by the Trojan prince, Paris. This action started the Trojan War.

On the right, Paris, wearing a red and yellow cloak and blue tunic, carries the protesting Helen from the Temple of Venus towards a small rowing boat at the water’s edge. The boat will take her to a waiting ship. Rolling waves curl around the ship’s hull. A man in a red hat peers over its stern. Details of the ship’s construction, sails and rigging match those in Gentile da Fabriano’s Stories of Saint Nicholas of Bari of 1425 (Vatican Museums). They seem to reflect contemporary practice.

In the centre of the panel, Helen’s elegant companions look on helplessly. On the left, two ladies talk under the arcades of a small pavilion decorated with greenery. Inside the pavilion, on a marble altar, a naked statue of the goddess Venus holds out a round object. This is likely to be the apple that Paris awarded her as winner of the famous beauty contest between the goddesses Diana, Juno and Venus. This contest is called the Judgement of Paris. Venus bribed Paris by offering him the most beautiful woman in the world – Helen – as his wife. The male statue on the roof of the pavilion is probably Cupid.

In the background, small islands dot the waters between Greece, where the scene takes place, and Troy in the distance. Various ships sail among them. The crescent moon shines through the clouds above, adding drama to the scene.

The National Gallery has another birthing tray featuring The Abduction of Helen, probably painted by Zanobi Strozzi. Helen’s abduction was considered suitable for birthing trays because she was seen as an example of female virtue. The story is likely to have come from De mulieribus claris (On Famous Women) by the fourteenth-century Florentine author Francesco Boccaccio, not Homer’s Iliad. In Boccaccio’s version, Helen remained a faithful wife to Menelaus, and did not consent to her seduction.

Artists produced these trays for the open market. Families could personalise them by adding their coat of arms, often on the back. The raised gilded edges protected the painted surface when the trays rested on a surface. They also prevented small objects from falling off.