Lip cups are a type of ancient Greek Attic

Attica

Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...

 Little-master cups.
Lip cups were produced since the middle of the sixth centre BC in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

. They resemble Gordion cup

Gordion Cup

Gordion cups are the earliest form of Attic Little-Master cups.The Gordion cups do not only comprise the earliest, but also the smallest examples of Little-master cups. The cup lip is covered in black slip and clearly distinguished from the rest of the vessel. The handle zone is decorated with a...

s, but their lip or rim was more clearly distinguished from the rest of the body. They had high feet on broad bases. Especially early specimens feature hollow conical feet with walls of even thickness.

This cup type was painted on the lip/rim. Usually, one to three figures are placed at the centre of the front and back, painted diredctly onto the base clay. Complete mythical scenes were rare. Often, the lip remained completely undecorated. Further decorations were painted in the handle zone. They nearly always included inscriptions between the handle palmette

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 an extremely long history, originating in Ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art of most of Eurasia, often in forms that bear...

s, as well as a painted strip near the upper edge. Rarely, the palmettes are replaced with animal or human figures. 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. In some cases, the lip is decorated with vegetal ornaments rather than figures.
It remains unknown why Band cups

Band cup

Band cups are a form of ancient Greek Attic 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 decaration is in the area of the handles, often framed by palmettes. Internal images and...

 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 Tleson

Tleson

Vase painters etcTleson was an Attic potter and perhaps also a vase painter in the black-figure style.He was the son of the famous potter Nearchos and brother of Ergoteles.His workshop apparently produced mostly Little-master cups...

, Sakonides, Hermogenes

Hermogenes (potter)

Hermogenes was an Attic potter. He was active in Athens in the mid-6th century BC and belongs to the group known as the Little masters.Hermogenes mainly produced cups . Well-known are his Band cupss with depictions of women's heads on the band. The Hermogenic skyphos, a specific type of skyphos...

, Epitimos, Xenokles, the Xenokles Painter

Xenokles Painter

The Xenokles Painter was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style, active around the middle of the 6th century BC.His real name is unknown. His conventional name is based on the fact that he often painted vases made by the potter Xenokles, with whom he may be identical. In artistic terms, he...

, the Taleides Painter

Taleides Painter

The Taleides Painter was an Attic vase painter of the black-figure style, active in the second half of thr 6th century BC. His conventional name is derived from the fact that he cooperated closely with the potter Taleides, many of whose vases he painted...

, the Phrynos Painter

Phrynos Painter

The Phrynos Painter was an Attic black-figure vase painter, active in Athens between circa 560 and 545 BC.Since his real name is unknown, he was allocated the conventional name Phrynos Painter after the potter Phrynos, as he had painted three cups signed by the latter:*Boston, Museum of Fine Arts...

 and Phrynos.