A PAIR OF MODERN VAPHIO GOLD CUPS, ZOLOTAS, ATHENS

The ancient site of Vaphio in Laconia, Greece, was discovered and excavated by the archaeologist in Christos Tsountas (1857 –1934) in 1889, causing a huge sensation. Most of the artefacts, mostly gems and works of art in gold, silver or amber, are now located in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, among them a pair of magnificent gold cups in high relief, representing wild bulls and their taming, to which the cups in the present lot refer. Probably of Crete origin, the Vaphio cups served as a source of inspiration for numerous goldsmiths and silversmiths throughout the century, such as George Nathan and Ridley Hayes in Birmingham, who specialised in copying archaeological discoveries.