Marble capital and finial in the form of a sphinx
This sculpture originally crowned the tall grave marker on view in this gallery. A plaster copy has been set on the monument itself and a new color reconstruction is displayed nearby. The sphinx retains abundant traces of yellow, red, black, and blue pigment, and the front face of the capital once had a painted design of palmettes and volutes (spiral scrolls).
A mythical creature with a lion’s body, the wings and breast of a bird, and a human head, the sphinx appears in various forms of art throughout the eastern Mediterranean region from the Bronze Age onward. The Greeks pictured it as a winged female and often placed its image on grave monuments as guardian of the dead. This example was carved separately from the rest; its plinth was let into a socket at the top of the capital and secured by a metal dowel and a bed of molten lead. The capital is in the form of two double volutes designed like a lyre.
#834. Marble Capital and Finial in the Form of a Sphinx
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.