Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Head of a Statue of a Queen as a Sphinx

Middle Kingdom

ca. 1919-1878 B.C.

Not on view

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.

Head of a Statue of a Queen as a Sphinx, Quartzite — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

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

Accession Number: SL.3.2015.7.16