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Sphinx of Hatshepsut

New Kingdom
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 131
This colossal sphinx portrays the female pharaoh Hatshepsut with the body of a lion and a human head wearing a nemes–headcloth and false beard. The sculptor has carefully observed the powerful muscles of the lion as contrasted to the handsome, idealized face of the pharaoh. It was one of at least six granite sphinxes that stood in Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri.

The sphinx has a long history in Egyptian art, the most famous example being the great sphinx at Giza which represents the Fourth Dynasty King Khafre who lived almost a thousand years before Hatshepsut. Sphinxes representing other pharaohs may be seen throughout the Egyptian galleries.

Hatshepsut ruled Egypt, first as regent for and then as senior co-ruler with her nephew/step-son Thutmose III. Most of her statues depict Hatshepsut as an ideal king, a young man in the prime of life, but others depict her as a woman (29.3.3)

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Sphinx of Hatshepsut
  • Period: New Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18
  • Reign: Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
  • Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Senenmut Quarry, MMA excavations, 1926–28
  • Medium: Granite, paint
  • Dimensions: H: 164 cm (64 9/16 in.); L: 343 cm (135 1/16 in.); Wt: 6758.6 kg (14900 lb.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1931
  • Object Number: 31.3.166
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

Audio

Cover Image for 3273. Sphinx of Hatshepsut

3273. Sphinx of Hatshepsut

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Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut, Granite
Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Hatshepsut in a Devotional Attitude, Granite, paint
Hatshepsut in a Devotional Attitude
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut, Granite
Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Doorjamb from a Temple of Ramesses II, Granite
Doorjamb from a Temple of Ramesses II
ca. 1279–1213 B.C.
Head from an Osiride Statue of Hatshepsut, Limestone, paint
Head from an Osiride Statue of Hatshepsut
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.

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