This 12-sided panel once served as a birthing tray, used to bring food and gifts to new mothers. These trays, called deschi da parto in Italian, were often decorated with stories from classical literature. This one shows the tale of Helen’s abduction. Paris, a Trojan prince, takes Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, from the Temple of Venus. This action started the Trojan War. Helen’s abduction was considered suitable for birthing trays because she was seen as an example of female virtue. The story probably came from 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. 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.