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Lot Essay
For the Painter of Berlin 1686 cf. J.D. Beazley, Attic Black Figure Vases Painters, Oxford, 1978, pp. 296-297 and J.D. Beazley, Paralipomena, Oxford, 1971, p. 129 no. 14, for a Type B amphora with similar fight scenes on both sides (sold Christie's New York, 7 December 2000, lot 424).
For a discussion of mercantile dipinto cf. A. W. Johnston, Trademarks on Greek Vases, Warminster, 1979.
Memnon was an Ethiopian king who fought at Troy against the Greeks (Hesiod Theogony 984). According to the mythic tradition, Memnon killed Nestor's son Antilochos in battle (Homer Odyssey IV.188). Nestor, after Memnon refused to fight the elderly man, beseeched Achilles to assist him in seeking vengeance for his fallen son, who, after Patroclus, was his closest companion. The ensuing clash was quintessentially epic, echoing that of Achilles and Hector: both heroes were protected by divine armour made by Hephaestus, and Zeus, who favoured both men, granted each heroic strength and unyielding energy. Thetis and Eos watched Zeus weigh the destinies of their sons, when Memnon’s was found to be heavier. Achilles was eventually victorious, stabbing Memnon through the heart, whereupon Eos carried his body back to Ethiopia. It was said that her tears for her son are the drops of dew found each morning. This myth was a popular subject in Greek art. The inclusion of a bird above the scene may refer to the comrades of Memnon who waited to reclaim the body of their leader, who were said to have been rewarded for their loyalty by being transformed into birds.
For a discussion of mercantile dipinto cf. A. W. Johnston, Trademarks on Greek Vases, Warminster, 1979.
Memnon was an Ethiopian king who fought at Troy against the Greeks (Hesiod Theogony 984). According to the mythic tradition, Memnon killed Nestor's son Antilochos in battle (Homer Odyssey IV.188). Nestor, after Memnon refused to fight the elderly man, beseeched Achilles to assist him in seeking vengeance for his fallen son, who, after Patroclus, was his closest companion. The ensuing clash was quintessentially epic, echoing that of Achilles and Hector: both heroes were protected by divine armour made by Hephaestus, and Zeus, who favoured both men, granted each heroic strength and unyielding energy. Thetis and Eos watched Zeus weigh the destinies of their sons, when Memnon’s was found to be heavier. Achilles was eventually victorious, stabbing Memnon through the heart, whereupon Eos carried his body back to Ethiopia. It was said that her tears for her son are the drops of dew found each morning. This myth was a popular subject in Greek art. The inclusion of a bird above the scene may refer to the comrades of Memnon who waited to reclaim the body of their leader, who were said to have been rewarded for their loyalty by being transformed into birds.