Head of a Statue of a Queen as a Sphinx
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
The uraeus on this lifesize head leaves little doubt that a queen or princess is represented; the narrow shoulders and their continuation in the back make it clear that she is from a sphinx, a composite creature combining a lion’s body and a human head. In the Middle Kingdom, royal women began to be depicted as sphinxes, a statue type previously usually reserved for the king. The overall shape of the face, the modeling, and the form of the eyes indicate that the head likely dates to the reign of Senwosret II.
The uraeus on this lifesize head leaves little doubt that a queen or princess is represented; the narrow shoulders and their continuation in the back make it clear that she is from a sphinx, a composite creature combining a lion’s body and a human head. In the Middle Kingdom, royal women began to be depicted as sphinxes, a statue type previously usually reserved for the king. The overall shape of the face, the modeling, and the form of the eyes indicate that the head likely dates to the reign of Senwosret II.
Artwork Details
- Title: Head of a Statue of a Queen as a Sphinx
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty: Mid Dynasty 12
- Date: ca. 1919-1878 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt; Said to be from Heliopolis
- Medium: Quartzite
- Dimensions: H. 27 cm (10 5/8 in.); W. 24 cm (9 7/16 in.); D. 22 cm (8 11/16 in.)
- Credit Line: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Partial gift of Magda Saleh and Jack A. Josephson in honor of Dr. Rita E. Freed, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art and museum purchase with funds from the Florence E. and Horace L. Mayer Funds, Egyptian Curator’s Fund, Marilyn M. Simpson Fund, Norma Jean and Stanford Calderwood Discretionary Fund, Mr. and Mrs. James M. Vaughn, Jr., The Vaughn Foundation Fund, Egyptian Deaccession Fund, Mr. and Mrs. John H. Valentine, Jane Marsland and Judith A. Marsland Fund, Ernest Kahn Fund, Susan Cornelia Warren Fund, Samuel Putnam Avery Fund, Mary L. Smith Fund, John Wheelock Elliot and John Morse Elliot Fund, Mary E. Moore Gift, Mrs. James Evans Ladd, Frank Jackson and Nancy McMahon, Alice M. Bartlett Fund, Benjamin Pierce Cheney Donation, Frank M. and Mary T. B. Ferrin Fund, Meg Holmes Robbins, Mr. and Mrs. Mark R. Goldweitz, Allen and Elizabeth R. Mottur, Barbara and Joanne Herman, Clark and Jane Hinkley, Walter and Celia Gilbert, Mr. and Mrs. Gorham L. Cross, Mr. and Mrs. Miguel de Bragança, Honey Scheidt, Mr. and Mrs. G. Arnold Haynes and Margaret J. Faulkner
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art