Tufa head of sphinx or siren

Tufa head of sphinx or siren

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This large head, made of volcanic stone, probably represents a sphinx or siren. Statues of both mythical creatures, usually depicted by the ancients with human female heads and winged animal or bird bodies, were often placed as guardians near the entrances to Etruscan tombs. The large winged lion on display in this gallery is a better preserved example of this type of stone sculpture. The style of this female head, with its almond-shaped eyes, Archaic smile, and wig-like hair arrangement is strongly reminiscent of Greek, especially Ionian examples. A number of related sculptures, all associated with ancient tombs at Vulci, are in other collections. One of the closest parallels for the Museum's head is in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tufa head of sphinx or sirenTufa head of sphinx or sirenTufa head of sphinx or sirenTufa head of sphinx or sirenTufa head of sphinx or siren

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.