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Although Louis Jean Desprez’s design was largely inspired by tombs in southern Italy, he added sphinxes in his print <em>Tomb with Sphinx </em>due to his fascination with ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians saw the sphinx, a half-human, half-lion mythological creature, as a protector of tombs and temples. The pair of andirons, decorative supports for a hearth’s firewood, alongside <em>Tomb with Sphinx</em>, highlight the growing interest in Egyptomania during the 1700s. Interestingly, the andirons portray ancient Greek and Roman interpretations of the sphinx. Most Europeans learned of ancient Egypt by studying Egyptomania in ancient Roman and Greek art and architecture or Egyptian antiquities brought over by the Romans.
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- Page
- 1
- Source index
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- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- eb8ba016823972c7
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 123529
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
{
"id": "123529",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Pair of Firedogs",
"description": "Although Louis Jean Desprez’s design was largely inspired by tombs in southern Italy, he added sphinxes in his print <em>Tomb with Sphinx </em>due to his fascination with ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians saw the sphinx, a half-human, half-lion mythological creature, as a protector of tombs and temples. The pair of andirons, decorative supports for a hearth’s firewood, alongside <em>Tomb with Sphinx</em>, highlight the growing interest in Egyptomania during the 1700s. Interestingly, the andirons portray ancient Greek and Roman interpretations of the sphinx. Most Europeans learned of ancient Egypt by studying Egyptomania in ancient Roman and Greek art and architecture or Egyptian antiquities brought over by the Romans.",
"date": "c. 1785",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.126",
"rights": "CC0",
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"language": "en",
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"Q60761035"
],
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"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1944.126/1944.126_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 50.3 x 46.3 x 14 cm (19 13/16 x 18 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.)",
"cul": [
"France, 18th century"
],
"accession": "1944.126"
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "123529",
"label": "Pair of Firedogs",
"core": "obj",
"dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "123529",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Pair of Firedogs",
"description": "Although Louis Jean Desprez’s design was largely inspired by tombs in southern Italy, he added sphinxes in his print <em>Tomb with Sphinx </em>due to his fascination with ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians saw the sphinx, a half-human, half-lion mythological creature, as a protector of tombs and temples. The pair of andirons, decorative supports for a hearth’s firewood, alongside <em>Tomb with Sphinx</em>, highlight the growing interest in Egyptomania during the 1700s. Interestingly, the andirons portray ancient Greek and Roman interpretations of the sphinx. Most Europeans learned of ancient Egypt by studying Egyptomania in ancient Roman and Greek art and architecture or Egyptian antiquities brought over by the Romans.",
"date": "c. 1785",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.126",
"rights": "CC0",
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"language": "en",
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"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1944.126/1944.126_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 50.3 x 46.3 x 14 cm (19 13/16 x 18 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.)",
"cul": [
"France, 18th century"
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}
Document source extras
{
"tec": "gilt bronze",
"tombstone": "Pair of Firedogs, c. 1785. France, 18th century. Gilt bronze; overall: 50.3 x 46.3 x 14 cm (19 13/16 x 18 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection, 1944.126",
"collection": "Furniture",
"citations": [
{
"citation": "<em>Catalogue of the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss collection : bequest of Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, 1944.</em> [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944. Published as: Pair of Firedogs, chenets.",
"page_number": "Reproduced & Mention: p.61, fig.42",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/Prentiss/page/n65"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 157",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n181"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 157",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n181"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 189",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n209"
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.126",
"creditline": "The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection",
"galleryDonorText": "M. Roger and Anne Clapp Gallery",
"updatedAt": "2026-05-29 06:21:20.384000",
"imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1944.126/1944.126_print.jpg",
"sourceId": 123529,
"dept": "Decorative Art and Design",
"coll": "Furniture",
"med": "gilt bronze",
"thumbnail_url": null,
"image_url": null
}
Page context
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