This fragment (the interior of a mighty drinking cup attributed to Douris) has it all, but you have to peer at it closely…
Front and center is a fierce warrior, striking in the way his face is drawn in three-quarters, framed by an ornate Chalcidian helmet (a thing of beauty: gleaming nose-piece, scaled culotte, checkered neck-guard, lofty crest, and dangerous looking raised cheekpieces) and springy hair and beard. Those pale eyes and funny pursed lips are aimed somewhat away from us…adding to a remote mystique.
Draped over one shoulder is the lean torso of a wounded warrior, his impressive musculature rendered in dilute slip, and the fatal wound dripping blood down in added red in a gory plume.
This heroic pair shows Ajax carrying the corpse of his kinsman Achilles (never mind that it’s not his ankle gushing) off the battlefield at Troy. Here, the contrast between Ajax’s armoured head stands in stark contrast to Achilles’ nude body (beautiful in its vulnerability). One of many representations of this scene, this is by far the most poignant…
[I found the Cabinet des Medailles (BnF) to be a treasure trove of vase fragments, among other delights…at times a treasure hunt and this quarry was nestled high up in a corner, requiring great feats of blind tiptoed arm-stretching iphoning to photograph!]
