Lip cup

Lip cups were produced from the middle of the sixth century BC in Athens.

They resemble Gordion cups, but their lips or rims were more clearly distinguished from the rest of the body.

Early specimens in particular feature hollow conical feet with walls of even thickness.

The inscriptions can be of mottos or toasts, or simply be meaningless arrays of letters, suggesting a mostly ornamental function.

The cup interior frequently contained circular figural paintings, often surrounded by flame patterns with white dots at the points.