Egyptian
Statuette of a Sphinx from a Barque Standard
INV-1300
EgyptianThird Intermediate Period, late Dynasty 21–Dynasty 22, about 984–715 BCE
Statuette of a Sphinx from a Barque Standard
Egyptian →third intermediate periodancientegyptiantwenty-first dynastystatuettebronze
Date
Third Intermediate Period, late Dynasty 21–Dynasty 22, about 984–715 BCE
Medium
Copper alloy
Dimensions
21.8 × 3.1 × 16.6 cm (8 9/16 × 1 3/16 × 6 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Norman W. Harris, Robert H. Fleming, Henry H. Getty, and Charles L. Hutchinson
The creature here combines a ferocious lion’s body with a king’s head to form a divine guardian called a sphinx. Small metal sphinxes like this one were affixed to barques (boats) that carried the cult statues of gods and goddesses when they were brought out of their temples during religious festivals. Here, two rearing cobras flank the sphinx’s paws to help it ward off threats to the deity whose statue was set in a shrine at the center of the barque, shielded from view.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
