Head of a Sphinx

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The uraeus serpent marks the royal status of this person, who is wearing an unusual wig with striations running from the forehead to the back. The statue depicts part of the real hair projecting from underneath the wig, in front of the ear. Looking at the head itself, it seems unclear if a man or woman is depicted. The shape of the mouth and the several tight curls of the uraeus fit well to early dynasty 12, but the naturally sculpted eyebrow and ear point towards the middle of this dynasty. The facial features do not match any king of this period, which makes it more likely that the head depicts a queen or princess. The depth and the angle of the break show that the head was part of a sphinx, a common statue type not only for kings, but also for royal women.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art