The material used to make this plate is known in Italy as maiolica. It is earthenware with a thick, opaque white surface called tin glaze. Maiolica was one of the first ceramics to be used specifically as a vehicle for painted decoration, either in lustre or in painted enamels.The scene shown here shows the legend of Hector. Hector, the eldest son of Queen Hecuba and King Priam of Troy, was the greatest of all the Trojan warriors. He was instrumental in holding off the Greek army for nine years and finally forced the Greeks back to their ships. During this war Hector kills Patroclus, the friend of Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors. Grief-stricken and frenzied, Achilles pursues Hector three times around the walls of Troy, kills him, and then ties his body to his chariot and drags it around the walls and back to Patroclus's funeral pyre. Learning that the Greeks are withholding burial rites from his son, King Priam makes his way behind the Greek battle lines with the aid of the god Hermes and begs Achilles to relinquish Hector's corpse. This image shows King Priam paying a ransom to Achilles for the return of his son's dead body.