Little-Master cup facts for kids
Little-master cups are special ancient Greek drinking cups. They were made in Attica, a region in Greece that includes Athens. These cups are famous for their "black-figure" style of painting. This means the pictures on them were painted in black, and details were scratched into the black paint.
Little-master cups were made around 575 to 525 BC. They get their name because the artists, called "Little Masters," painted tiny, detailed pictures on them. These pictures were often found in a small band around the top part of the cup. Sometimes, they also painted on the lip or near the handles.
The artists who made these cups usually focused on smaller designs. They didn't often paint on very large vases. Many Little-master cups have the artist's signature on them. This was often part of the design itself. Potters, who made the cups, signed them more often than the painters. This might be because the cups themselves were very well made.
Types of Little-Master Cups
There were several different kinds of Little-master cups. Each type had its own unique shape or decoration style. Here are some of the main types:
- Band cups: These cups had a picture band around the middle.
- Droop cups: Named after the potter Droop, these cups had decorations that "drooped" down from the rim.
- Gordion cups: These cups are named after a place called Gordion where some were found.
- Kassel cups: These were a smaller, simpler type of cup.
- Lip cups: These cups had designs painted only on the lip or rim.
- Band skyphoi: A skyphos is another type of drinking cup, and the "band" version had a similar decorative band to the band cups.
Images for kids
-
A Band cup made by an unknown artist from Attica, around 540 BC. You can see it at the Louvre Museum.
-
A Droop cup by an unknown Attic artist, made around 550–530 BC. This cup is also at the Louvre.
-
A Kassel Cup by an unknown Attic artist, made around 540 BC. It is displayed at the Louvre.
See also
In Spanish: Copas de los pequeños maestros para niños
