Scarab with the Representation of a Winged Sphinx

The image of the sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man, appears as early as the 3rd millennium B.C. (Old Kingdom) and remains to this day one of the most recognizable ancient Egyptian motifs. In Egypt, the sphinx is always male, with either a human head or the head of a divine animal such as the falcon of Horus (not to be confused with another hybrid creature, the griffin) or the ram of Amun. The sphinx is often crowned and occasionally has wings. Therefore, the Egyptian sphinx refers to the divine king and/or to the sun god. In ancient Egypt, this hybrid creature is more frequently depicted recumbent or striding; rarely it is shown seated on its hind legs, a pose when it is noted possibly reflects influences from the ancient Near East, where the sphinx is often shown seated. The non-Egyptian sphinx is generally winged and does not refer to kingship but rather to generalized protection.

Based on its typological features, this scarab dates to the early 1st millennium B.C. The wings and the apron identify the creature as a Phoenician sphinx. The triangular apron is typical of Phoenician imagery – which is strongly egyptianizing, drawing from Egyptian models. The apron was a common item of dress seen on sculptures of Egyptian sphinxes from the Middle Kingdom onwards.

Vanessa Boschloos, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Research Fellow, 2018.

Formerly in the collection of the Reverend Chauncey Murch (died 1907). Collected between 1883 and 1906 while Murch was a missionary in Egypt. Collection purchased by the Museum from the Murch family with funds provided by Helen Miller Gould, 1910.