19th century

19th century

Pair of sphinxes

Wood, cm 16.5 x 15.5 x 6

Present in Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Greek mythology, the sphinx is a being usually depicted with human head and lion body. Sometimes, however, it is also attributed with wings of a raptor and a snake in place of the tail, and the human head is replaced by hawk or goat heads. In the three mythologies, however, it has different origins and functions. In Egypt the sphinx is the custodian of the pyramids which, silent and imperturbable, seems to be as ancient as the earth itself. In Mesopotamia is flanked by the figures of lamassu, hybrid creatures with human head and body or lion or bull and also equipped with wings, considered beneficial entities of strength and wisdom, placed to protect cities and palaces. In Greek mythology instead the sphinx is a creature daughter of Typhoon and Echidna and sister of monstrosities like the Chimera, the Hydra and the Cerberus. In this case it is a monster that scourged the city of Thebes by interrogating passers-by and devouring those who could not solve his riddles, solved only by the intrepid Oedipus.

These two carved wooden sculptures depict two sphinxes with the body of a lion and the breast and female face. Dating back to the nineteenth century are part of that cultural movement leading to the rediscovery of the East; the current of Orientalism spreads especially in England and France, started in the last years of the eighteenth century finds its maximum spread in the especially following Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt in 1798.

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