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

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.