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Statuette of a Sphinx from a Barque Standard

Date:

Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21–22, about 984–715 BCE

Artist:

Egyptian

About this artwork

The creature here combines a ferocious lion’s body with a king’s head to form a divine guardian called a sphinx. Small metal sphinxes like this one were affixed to barques (boats) that carried the cult statues of gods and goddesses when they were brought out of their temples during religious festivals. Here, two rearing cobras flank the sphinx’s paws to help it ward off threats to the deity whose statue was set in a shrine at the center of the barque, shielded from view.

Status

On View, Gallery 50

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Title

Statuette of a Sphinx from a Barque Standard

Place

Egypt (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 984 BCE–715 BCE

Medium

Copper alloy

Dimensions

21.8 × 3.1 × 16.6 cm (8 9/16 × 1 3/16 × 6 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Robert H. Fleming

Reference Number

1894.257

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/130025/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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