Vapheio type Mycenaean gold cup depicting a wild bull hunt side D, Vapheio Tholos Tomb, Lakonia, Greece. National Archaeological Museum of Athens.  Grey Background<br /> <br /> <br />  Two masterpieces of Creto - Mycenaean gold metalwork were excavated from a tholos tomb near Lakonia in Sparta in 1988. Made in the 15th century BC, the gold cups are heavily influenced by the Minoan style that was predominant in the Agean at the time. The bull hunt was popular with  Mycenaean  and Minoan artists and symolised power and fertility. The distinctive shape of the cup is kown as 'Vapheio type'.
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