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Source Description
In Greek art, the sphinx was represented as a winged monster with a lion's body and a woman's head. According to the legend of Oedipus, the sphinx devoured men who failed to solve her riddle. Associated with the underworld, she was also a tomb guardian and a protector. During the 7th and 6th centuries BC, statues and statuettes of sphinxes were common dedications in sanctuaries or tombs and were also used as decorative elements on furniture or vessels, like the figurine shown here.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
10370
label
Sphinx
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
10370
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Sphinx
description
In Greek art, the sphinx was represented as a winged monster with a lion's body and a woman's head. According to the legend of Oedipus, the sphinx devoured men who failed to solve her riddle. Associated with the underworld, she was also a tomb guardian and a protector. During the 7th and 6th centuries BC, statues and statuettes of sphinxes were common dedications in sanctuaries or tombs and were also used as decorative elements on furniture or vessels, like the figurine shown here.
provenance
Jean P. Lambros Collection Sale, Athens, 1912, no. 208; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1912, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 540 BCE (Archaic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
statuettes (statues)
figurines
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
3 in. (7.6 cm)
Source extras
cul
Greek
med
bronze
creator_ids
6256
collection_ids
GRC
exhibition_ids
2177
97
2121
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
79cce87cdc159db3