Droop cups are a type of Little-master cup, produced about 550 to 510 BC. A few examples date to the fifth century BC. They are named after John Percival Droop

John Percival Droop

John Percival Droop was a British classical archaeologist. He served as the professor of classical archaeology at the University of Liverpool from 1921 to 1948...

, an English archaeologist, who first recognised the type.
Droop cups have black concave lips, more clearly distinguished from the vase body than on other Little-master cups. The feet are high; at the upper end they bear a ridge in natural base clay colour and a similar band just below, sometimes slashed. The edge of the base is painted black. The interior of the hollow foot has a broad black band of paint. On the base interior, the black slip

Slip (ceramics)

A slip is a suspension in water of clay and/or other materials used in the production of ceramic ware. Deflocculant, such as sodium silicate, can be added to the slip to disperse the raw material particles...

  is usually interrupted by a stripe deep below the rim; at times a cirle at the bottom is also left free of black.
The cups of this type date to about 550 BC. The earliest specimens are completely black, a type that remains in production throughout later developments. Some early examples bear rows of bud-like decorations in the handle area. From circa 540 BC, decoration changes in so far that now the entire vase exterior below the lip and above the foot is decorated with bands, 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, leaves, dots, rays, or animal silhouettes. Figural decoration is rare.
Details of the post-540 decorative style are so similar to cups from Laconia

Laconia

Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...

 that a connection must be assumes. It is likely that both regions used the same East Greek examples as inspiration. Later, decorative schemes were directly adopted from Sparta

Sparta

Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

. The type goes mostly out of use around 510 BC, although black-slipped cups continue to be made for longer.

External links

• Droop cups in the Beazley Archive