Minoan gold cups made of cast metal, gilded

Minoan and Mycenaean cultures: Cretan art is also called Minoan art after the legendary King Minos. Cretan-Minoan art refers to the art of Crete from approximately 2900–1600 BC (Minoan art), while Mycenaean art encompasses Crete and mainland Greece from approximately 1600–1100 BC, though on Crete it extends only to 1200 BC. In the shaft tombs of Mycenae, which flourished in the 14th and 13th centuries BC, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered significant evidence of this culture. One surviving example is the Lion Gate, dating from the 13th century BC. The ceramic artworks, particularly the magnificently decorated vases, have best survived the ravages of time. The Snake Goddess (circa 1500 BC), a faience statuette recovered from the rubble of the palace sanctuary at Knossos, is famous. Bronze vessels of the period were mostly used in the home. However, daggers, swords, and armor were also made of bronze. The jewelry of Cretan-Mycenaean women was crafted from gold, rock crystal, lapis lazuli, ivory, faience, and glass.