On this Athenian white-ground lekythos attributed to Douris, two young warriors put on their armor, assisted by a woman and a young boy. The main lines of the bodies and clothing are drawn in black glaze, and the rest of the drawing is rendered with a brownish line made from diluted glaze. The words written between the figures are kalos inscriptions, praising Athenian youths. Large, white-ground lekythoi with outline drawing like this one are unusual in the early 400s B.C., yet three such lekythoi can be attributed to Douris. In the late 500s B.C., Athenian potters began to paint over the natural reddish color of their pottery with a highly purified clay that turned white when fired. Initially artists applied this technique to a variety of shapes. However, because the white slip was rather fragile, by the mid- 400s B.C. artists limited the use of this technique to leykthoi used in funerary ritual. --J. Paul Getty Museum
Pottery: red-figured kylix (drinking-cup) showing boys serving wine. INTERIOR: komast. A bearded komast moves to the right with head turned back to left. He wears a chlamys over his upper arms and a red apicate fillet in his hair. He holds a cup back in his right hand and a knotty stick across his body in his left. Relief line for vertical strokes of fringe over forehead and for horizontal lines of hair tied up at back (relief line fringe for beard); dilute glaze line above and below eye. Preliminary sketch indicates that the chlamys was intended to be longer on the right. Border: alternating false maeander (twelve-stroke, alternately clockwise and anticlockwise) and blackened cross-square. EXTERIOR: symposium. Side A (lower): three banqueters on couches attended by two boys. On the couch on the left a bearded man reclines to the left, his head turned back to the right. He wears a himation over his left shoulder and around his waist and legs and a red apicate fillet in his hair. He rests against a folded cushion decorated with pairs of stripes, while he grips a cup in his left hand and holds out his right hand palm upward as if holding another. Above him hang two cups, seen from underneath, and a flat-bottomed oinochoe. His couch rests on a dais, the corner of which is visible on the left, and in front of it (ie. alongside) is a three-legged table on which are three red garlands. In front of the left hand end of the central couch stands a naked boy with a red fillet in his hair. He holds an oinochoe in his right hand and stretches out his left hand towards the symposiast on the central couch. Here a bearded man reclines to the left (cushion decorated with a pair of stripes and a stripe flanked by pairs of lines). He holds out a cup high in his right hand; his left hand is empty. He wears a himation in the same manner as the first symposiast, but has a thick reserved fillet (alternately vertical line and rows of dots at each bunching) in his hair. Above him and the boy hang two footless oinochoai and a cup seen from underneath. Alongside his couch is a three-legged table over which hang three red garlands. The couch on the right is seen in end view from the back. On it reclines a bearded man with a himation round his waist and a red apicate fillet in his hair. He is seen from the back, his left elbow resting on his cushion and his raised right knee splayed out to the right. He holds a cup up to his lips in his left hand and gestures with his right to the boy who stands between him and the central couch. Either side of the end of the couch project the ends of his striped cushion. Alongside the couch is a three-legged table, also seen from the end, the two legs in profile in the foreground, the third in back view beyond. The naked boy attendant who stands on the left of the couch, behind the table, has a frontal torso and left leg. His hair has a long straight fringe of relief lines over his neck. He holds an oinochoe in his left hand, tipped down so that the trefoil mouth is shown foreshortened. He gestures with his right hand as he looks at the symposiast. Above these two figures are two cups seen from underneath and a small foodess oinochoe. Side Β (upper): three couches and one boy attendant. The couch and its occupant on the left repeats the form of the central couch on side A, although the symposiast's himation has a line border and his cushion pairs of lines. As on the first couch on side A, the corner of the dais is visible. Above this couch hang two cups seen from underneath and a footed oinochoe. At the left hand end of the central couch stands a naked boy with a red hair-band, holding a small chytra in his right hand as he holds up his left hand. The bearded man on this couch repeats the scheme of the central couch on side A, save that here he holds a cup in his left hand and extends his right arm out towards the boy. From the fingers of his right hand hangs a red circlet. Above hang a footless oinochoe, a cup seen from underneath and a small chytra. The couch on the right is seen from behind, as on side A. The man here, however, holds a cup in his left hand as he leans on his left elbow, and his right hand is held out further to the left (no hair-band). The corner of the dais is visible and there is a three-legged table alongside the couch, but no attendant, nor are there any red garlands on the table and the cushion is plain. Above hang two cups seen from underneath and a small footless oinochoe. At either handle: floral complex with a circumscribed palmette either side of the handles and a large and a small palmette addorsed under the handles; spiral terminals and dots. Ground line: single reserved line. Graffiti under foot Relief line contours throughout (double for hair, except on AI); dilute glaze for minor interior markings; reserved line inside and outside lip; added red for inscriptions. --The British Museum, Williams, Dyfri, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain 17, British Museum 9, London, BMP, 1993; A Catalogue of the Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum, London, William Nicol, 1851; Walters, H B; Forsdyke, E J; Smith, C H, Catalogue of Vases in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1893
Pottery: red-figured kylix (drinking-cup) showing boys serving wine. INTERIOR: komast. A bearded komast moves to the right with head turned back to left. He wears a chlamys over his upper arms and a red apicate fillet in his hair. He holds a cup back in his right hand and a knotty stick across his body in his left. Relief line for vertical strokes of fringe over forehead and for horizontal lines of hair tied up at back (relief line fringe for beard); dilute glaze line above and below eye. Preliminary sketch indicates that the chlamys was intended to be longer on the right. Border: alternating false maeander (twelve-stroke, alternately clockwise and anticlockwise) and blackened cross-square. EXTERIOR: symposium. Side A (lower): three banqueters on couches attended by two boys. On the couch on the left a bearded man reclines to the left, his head turned back to the right. He wears a himation over his left shoulder and around his waist and legs and a red apicate fillet in his hair. He rests against a folded cushion decorated with pairs of stripes, while he grips a cup in his left hand and holds out his right hand palm upward as if holding another. Above him hang two cups, seen from underneath, and a flat-bottomed oinochoe. His couch rests on a dais, the corner of which is visible on the left, and in front of it (ie. alongside) is a three-legged table on which are three red garlands. In front of the left hand end of the central couch stands a naked boy with a red fillet in his hair. He holds an oinochoe in his right hand and stretches out his left hand towards the symposiast on the central couch. Here a bearded man reclines to the left (cushion decorated with a pair of stripes and a stripe flanked by pairs of lines). He holds out a cup high in his right hand; his left hand is empty. He wears a himation in the same manner as the first symposiast, but has a thick reserved fillet (alternately vertical line and rows of dots at each bunching) in his hair. Above him and the boy hang two footless oinochoai and a cup seen from underneath. Alongside his couch is a three-legged table over which hang three red garlands. The couch on the right is seen in end view from the back. On it reclines a bearded man with a himation round his waist and a red apicate fillet in his hair. He is seen from the back, his left elbow resting on his cushion and his raised right knee splayed out to the right. He holds a cup up to his lips in his left hand and gestures with his right to the boy who stands between him and the central couch. Either side of the end of the couch project the ends of his striped cushion. Alongside the couch is a three-legged table, also seen from the end, the two legs in profile in the foreground, the third in back view beyond. The naked boy attendant who stands on the left of the couch, behind the table, has a frontal torso and left leg. His hair has a long straight fringe of relief lines over his neck. He holds an oinochoe in his left hand, tipped down so that the trefoil mouth is shown foreshortened. He gestures with his right hand as he looks at the symposiast. Above these two figures are two cups seen from underneath and a small foodess oinochoe. Side Β (upper): three couches and one boy attendant. The couch and its occupant on the left repeats the form of the central couch on side A, although the symposiast's himation has a line border and his cushion pairs of lines. As on the first couch on side A, the corner of the dais is visible. Above this couch hang two cups seen from underneath and a footed oinochoe. At the left hand end of the central couch stands a naked boy with a red hair-band, holding a small chytra in his right hand as he holds up his left hand. The bearded man on this couch repeats the scheme of the central couch on side A, save that here he holds a cup in his left hand and extends his right arm out towards the boy. From the fingers of his right hand hangs a red circlet. Above hang a footless oinochoe, a cup seen from underneath and a small chytra. The couch on the right is seen from behind, as on side A. The man here, however, holds a cup in his left hand as he leans on his left elbow, and his right hand is held out further to the left (no hair-band). The corner of the dais is visible and there is a three-legged table alongside the couch, but no attendant, nor are there any red garlands on the table and the cushion is plain. Above hang two cups seen from underneath and a small footless oinochoe. At either handle: floral complex with a circumscribed palmette either side of the handles and a large and a small palmette addorsed under the handles; spiral terminals and dots. Ground line: single reserved line. Graffiti under foot Relief line contours throughout (double for hair, except on AI); dilute glaze for minor interior markings; reserved line inside and outside lip; added red for inscriptions. --The British Museum, Williams, Dyfri, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain 17, British Museum 9, London, BMP, 1993; A Catalogue of the Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum, London, William Nicol, 1851; Walters, H B; Forsdyke, E J; Smith, C H, Catalogue of Vases in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1893
