East Greek Lip Cup

When this cup was filled, the water birds decorating the interior of the lip would have appeared to wade on the shore of the "wine dark sea." Likely made by an East Greek potter on the island of Samos in Ionia, just off the coast of modern Turkey, this black-figure cup is an adaptation of what is known as an Athenian Little Master cup. With a somewhat more delicate form, it differs slightly from the Athenian examples in shape. The cup also follows East Greek traditions in the choice of decorative motifs and their placement. Water birds were a favorite East Greek motif for centuries. The rosette inside the cup, a motif derived from the Ancient Near East, was popular in the art of Samos in this period. The use of a zone of figural decoration on a cup's interior lip is found only on Ionian, not in Athenian, Little Master cups.