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Description
Description
This Greek ceramic statue of a Sphinx depicts one of the ancient world’s most enigmatic creatures, a hybrid with the face of a woman, talons of a lion, wings of a bird, and serpent’s tail. Rooted in Egyptian iconography, where it symbolized divine power, the Greek sphinx evolved into a more menacing figure associated with riddles, guardianship, and divine punishment.
Seated on its haunches with its head turned to confront the viewer, the statue features a serene, idealized female face crowned with a Corinthian-style polos. Its finely modeled wings, detailed with scale-like and elongated feathers, highlight the artisans’ skill and understanding of avian anatomy.
By the 6th century B.C.E., the sphinx was a prominent apotropaic symbol in funerary art, believed to ward off malevolent forces and protect the deceased. This terracotta sculpture likely adorned Greek necropolises, where its defiant posture emphasized its role as a guardian of sacred spaces.
H. 18 cm
Period and Time
Period and Time
This statue dates to the 6th–5th Century B.C.E., a transformative period in Greek art when mythological creatures like the sphinx became central to funerary and architectural decoration.
It reflects the Greeks’ fascination with blending beauty and terror in art, as well as their adoption and adaptation of earlier Egyptian iconography.
Material
Material
Terracotta: A widely used material in ancient Greek art due to its versatility and durability, terracotta allowed artisans to create detailed and expressive works like this sphinx statue.
Provenance
Provenance
Private collection G. A., Gardena, California, USA. 1980s, Jerusalem private collection
Literature
BILLOT, M.F. “Le Sphinx du Louvre CA 637”, Bulletin de Correspondence Hellénique. 1977. MARCONI, C. Temple Decoration and Cultural Identity in the Archaic Greek World. Getty Foundation. 2007, p. 90. RENGER, A.B. Oedipus and the Sphinx: The Threshold Myth from Sophocles through Freud to Cocteau. UCP. 2013. STILLWELL, A. N. Corinth: The Potters’ Quarter. Harvard Univ. Press. 1952.
