Band cups are a form of ancient Greek
Attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
Little-master cups.
The lip of a band cup is black and slightly concave. At the joint between vase body and foot, there is often a red ring. The external figural decoration is in the area of the handles, often framed by
palmette
The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art ...
s. Internal images and inscriptions are quite rare. Some specimens are completely black with the exception of some figures near the handles. Another very rare group of specimens, attributed to the potter
Andokides and his workshop, have figural decoration on the flat base of the foot.
It remains unknown why band cups and
Lip cups existed side by side for a considerable period. Perhaps, each variant had its own distinctive advantages. For example, it may have been more pleasant to drink from the undecorated black-slipped lip of a band cup, while the strong ridge underneath the rim of lip cups would have prevented spilling more effectively. Lip cups were somewhat more difficult to produce.
Well-known artists of this type were
Hermogenes,
Glaukytes, the
Centaur Painter
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
,
Neandros,
Sokles
Sokles was an ancient Greek potter, active in the middle of the 6th century BC, in Athens.
The following signed Little-master cups or fragments thereof are known, all of them painted by the Sokles Painter:
*Berlin, Antikensammlung F 1781
*Bolligen ...
and the
Oakeshott Painter. The differences amongst these cups can be found through their varying sizes and decorated imagery; these unique characteristics were influenced by the workshops they were created in rather than a set formula for the cup design.
See also
*
Athenian Band Cup by the Oakeshott Painter (MET 17.230.5)
Bibliography
*
John Boardman: ''Schwarzfigurige Vasen aus Athen. Ein Handbuch'', Mainz 1977, , p. 66
Notes
External links
*
{{Greek drinking cups
Attic pottery
Drinkware