Band cup facts for kids

This band cup shows Dionysus, the god of wine, with Ariadne, satyrs, and maenads. It was made around 550/540 BC and is now in the Louvre museum.

A battle scene is shown on this band cup, made by an unknown artist around 540 BC. It is also displayed at the Louvre.

Band cups were a special type of drinking cup made in ancient Attica (a region in Greece that included Athens). They are part of a group called "Little-master cups," which were smaller, finely made cups known for their detailed designs.

What Did Band Cups Look Like?

Band cups had a very distinct look.

• Their top edge, called the lip, was usually black and curved inward a little bit. This made them comfortable to drink from.
• Where the main part of the cup met its foot, there was often a bright red ring.
• The main pictures or designs were usually placed on the outside of the cup, right around the handles. These designs were often framed by decorative patterns called palmettes, which look like fan-shaped leaves.
• It was quite rare to find pictures or writing inside these cups.
• Some band cups were almost entirely black, with just a few small figures near the handles.
• A very rare type of band cup, made by a potter named Andokides and his team, even had decorations on the flat bottom of the foot!

Band Cups vs. Lip Cups

For a long time, band cups were made at the same time as another similar type of cup called "lip cups." No one knows for sure why both types existed side-by-side.

• Maybe band cups were more pleasant to drink from because their black lip was smooth and plain.
• On the other hand, lip cups had a strong ridge just below their rim, which might have helped prevent drinks from spilling.
• Lip cups were also a bit harder to make than band cups.

Who Made These Cups?

Many skilled artists and potters created band cups. Some well-known names include Hermogenes, Glaukytes, the Centaur Painter, Neandros, Sokles, and the Oakeshott Painter.

• The cups made by different workshops often had unique features.
• You can spot differences in their sizes and the types of pictures they showed. These unique qualities came from the specific workshops where they were made, rather than from a strict set of rules for how every band cup should look.

See also

• Ancient Greek pottery
• Drinking vessel
• In Spanish: Copa de bandas para niños