Ivory Winged Sphinx

Sculpture

Museum of Antiquities - University of Saskatchewan

Name/Title

Ivory Winged Sphinx

Entry/Object ID

06NE16111

Description

Ivory panel in openwork depicting a sphinx facing left and in a walking stance with its right leg forward and its left leg behind. The sphinx has a male human face and is wearing a headdress with the Upper and Lower Crowns of Egypt placed horizontally. Wearing an apron hanging from its chest with a projecting uraeus, the sphinx also has wings which are extended backwards and a curled tail. The sphinx is surrounded by floral decoration and its wings and chest are decorated with various geometric patterns.

Type of Sculpture

Other

Artwork Details

Medium

Plaster

Context

This winged sphinx is a furniture panel and part of a collection of ivories unearthed by British expeditions at Fort Shalmaneser in the ancient Assyrian capital of Kalhu (Nimrud). This beautiful object embodies the iconographic extravagance associated with Phoenician craftsmanship and aristocratic tastes. Royalty, religious leaders, and members of the urban elite decorated their furniture with delicate ivory plaques, which were abundant in the store rooms, as well as the royal apartments at Fort Shalmaneser. The sphinx was a mythical creature believed to provide protection for royalty. The creature is characterized as having wings, the body of a lion, and a human head. This male sphinx exudes Egyptian influence, visible in his wearing of the Egyptian double-crown, symbolic of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Made/Created

Date made

899 BCE - 700 BCE

Time Period

Dark Ages

Ethnography

Culture/Tribe

Near Eastern - Phoenician

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

7 cm

Width

7.9 cm

Depth

0.6 cm

Research Notes

Research Type

Researcher

Notes

Brown, Shelby. "Perspectives on on Phoenician Art." The Biblical Archaeologist Vol.55, No.1 (The American Schools of Oriental Research),( March 1992):pp. 6-24. Public: No

Research Type

Researcher

Notes

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Collection Online:Openwork plaque with a sphinx wearing a double crown." The Metropolitan Museum of Art.http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/325667(accessed November 26, 2015). Public: No

Research Type

Researcher

Notes

The British Museum. "Explore/Highlights: Ivory plaque depicting a winged sphinx." The British Museum.http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/i/winged_sphinx_ivory_plaque.aspx (accessed October 14, 2009). Public: No

Research Type

Researcher

Notes

The British Museum. "Collection Online: Panel." The British Museum.http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=369007&partId=1&place=33778&plaA=33778-3-1&page=4 (accessed November 26, 2015). Public: No