Red-Figure Eye Cup: Warriors (A), Musician and Youths (B)

c. 520 BCE

attributed to Psiax

(Greek, Attic, active c. 525–505 BCE)

and Group of Leipzig T 3599

Culture

Greek, Attic

Medium

ceramic

Measurements

Diameter of tondo: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.); Overall: 11.2 x 33.6 cm (4 7/16 x 13 1/4 in.); Diameter of rim: 26 cm (10 1/4 in.); Diameter of foot: 10.2 cm (4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1976.89

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Location

102B Greek

Did You Know?

The fallen warrior’s spear is done with added clay (shaft) and incision (head), not red-figure.

Description

Red-figure eye cups, like their more common black-figure brethren (including one in Cleveland), feature two large eyes on either side, producing a masking effect for drinkers. Typically, palmettes flank the eyes, with either a nose or figure at center. Here, the innovative painter Psiax, who worked in both black-figure and red-figure, moved the palmettes to the tondo and created three-figure compositions on each exterior side: two warriors converging on a fallen comrade (or enemy); and a youth playing a cithara for an audience of two. The experimental nature of early red-figure may explain the unusual spear and awkwardly twisted torso and lower leg of the central warrior.