Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Head from a Female Sphinx

ca. 1876–1842 B.C.E.

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About this Brooklyn Icon

The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.

Depicting a queen or princess, this striking green head is one of the earliest representations of a female sphinx. Its size and powerful presence contrast with its smooth and delicate features. The face and neck, once attached to a sphinx’s reclining body, reveal evidence of ancient damage and more modern repairs. The empty eyes originally held stone inlays.

The head’s journey to Brooklyn is a storied tale, extending many miles and millennia. It was first described in 1764 CE in one of the earliest treatises on ancient art. The text notes that the “sublime” head was part of Cardinal Alessandro Albani’s antiquities collection in Rome. How it came to Italy remains a mystery. The Romans might have brought it in the first century CE, possibly installing it in Emperor Hadrian’s villa.

In 1772, the Marquess of Lansdowne purchased the head; the family kept it until a 1930 estate sale. For 20 years, its location was unknown. In 1955, a Sotheby’s employee noticed the piece outside an Essex shop and purchased it on a whim. He sold the head for a mere 500 pounds, claiming he was bamboozled by his boss. The next thing he knew, Sotheby’s had sold it to the Brooklyn Museum, where it continues to awe and inspire.

Object Label

Small details sometimes provide crucial clues to understanding a sculpture. On this object, for example, the back of the wig extends horizontally instead of downward, indicating that the head originally belonged to a sphinx, a mythological creature with a human head and a lion’s body. Sphinxes represented the king’s ability to crush Egypt’s enemies. Although sphinxes were usually male, the heavy striated wig shown here only appears on representations of women.

This statue’s inlaid eyes, probably of metal and colored stones, were pried out in antiquity, resulting in extensive damage. Repairs to the eyes, lips, and chin were apparently made in the eighteenth century.

Caption

Head from a Female Sphinx, ca. 1876–1842 B.C.E.. Chlorite, 15 5/16 x 13 1/8 x 13 15/16 in., 124.5 lb. (38.9 x 33.3 x 35.4 cm, 56.47kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 56.85. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.85_front_SL1.jpg)

Frequent Art Questions

Why are so many noses missing? Is it just age and wear?
In some cases, yes! When statues fall, the noses tend to be the point of impact, as well. Many statues may have had their noses removed late as a way to "kill" the statue and harm the soul of a deceased person.
Exquisite! What is she made out of?
She's made out of Chlorite a type of metamorphic stone -- a material that is relatively uncommon in Egyptian sculpture. If you look closely at the face, you can see some clear repairs that have been made. It's believed that a restoration attempt was made during the 18th century. Restorers of the time likely repaired the damaged uraeus (snake at the hairline, that you see on lots of Egyptian works) reducing it to a jewel like hair clip and eliminating all traces of the snakes body which likely was coiled on top of the head.
This is beautiful!
The head is likely a queen or princess – the “clip” at the front of her wig was likely once a uraeus, a cobra headdress that was only worn by royalty.
This work came from the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani in Rome, scholars suggest the artifact made its way to Rome when Emperor Hadrian began to collect Egyptian art in the first century CE for his storied villa.
Tell me more.
This head from a sphinx likely represents a queen or princess. We can tell because what looks like a hair clip would have originally been a uraeus, a small cobra headdress that only royalty wore.
What's the story behind this head?
Well the head is covered by a wig, a typical Egyptian hairstyle. The back would have been attached to a lion's body, making the figure as a whole a sphinx.
We know it comes from a sphinx because of the shape of the wig in back. In a typical statue, the hair would go straight down but because the wig turns out we know it must be a different shape, and a sphinx would make most sense in the ancient Egyptian context.
What’s a sphinx?
A sphinx is a mythological creature with a human head and lion's body. They were typically associated with men and the king but in this case the wig confirms that this is indeed a representation of a woman.
What is this work of art trying to tell us?
Sphinxes generally represented the king's ability to crush Egypt's enemies. So the depiction of a woman as a sphinx is definitely indicative of her high status as a queen or princess. Lions were revered for their strength, courage and majesty and the lioness' motherly instinct represented the mystical duality of fury and care.
This statue was likely an object honoring the queen or princess depicted and the qualities she shared with lion/lioness. The work itself came from the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani in Rome and scholars suggest it made its way to Rome when the Emperor Hadrian began to collect Egyptian art in the first century CE.
Without the original context it becomes much harder as to speculate to the meaning or function of the piece.
The eyes, lips, hair, etc. What's their meaning?
They are typical of Egyptian depictions of women, especially royal women. They don't necessarily have a meaning onto themselves. The eyes though were originally inlaid with metal or precious stone, further confirming that this was a royal commission. The way that these features were shown in art did change over time and what her eyes and lips look like help us to determine when this was made.
Tell me more.
The image you sent is of the head of a female sphinx. While the sculpture was made during the Middle Kingdom, you might notice some odd fractures in it where it has clearly been repaired. It is believed someone attempted a repair some time in the 18th century.
Who is the woman in this sculpture?
Without an inscription we can't be certain of her name. The style of the face and hair suggest that it comes from the Middle Kingdom period. The shape of the hair at the back suggests this head came from a sphinx. Female sphinxes were pretty unusual in ancient Egypt; it is possible that this represents a daughter of the king Amunemhat II who is believed to have commissioned sphinxes of his daughters.
Tell me more.
We can tell that this head from a sphinx depicts a woman, something rare in sphinxes, based on the style of her wig. Her facial features tell us when this was carved: the 12th Dynasty.
All of these clues, together, suggest that this head depicts a princess, a daughter of the king Amunemhat II because we know that he commissioned sphinxes of his daughters.
Why doesn't this statue have eyes?
The eyes of this statue would have been made from a different material, likely a different stone or glass, and set into the sockets you see here. It appears as thought these inset eyes were removed intentionally at some point, if you look closely you can see repaired chisel marks at the sockets.
Thank you!