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Sphinx of Hatshepsut
Additional Images (6)

Sphinx of Hatshepsut

Period: New Kingdom
Dynasty: Dynasty 18
Reign: Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Senenmut Quarry, MMA 1926–1928
Medium: Granite, paint
Dimensions: H: 164 cm (64 9/16 in.); L: 343 cm (135 1/16 in.); Wt: 6758.6 kg (14900 lb.)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1931
Accession Number: 31.3.166
On view in Gallery 131
Label Object Information Related Objects Online Resources Video Audio
This colossal sphinx portrays the female pharaoh Hatshepsut with the body of a lion and a human head wearing a nemes headcloth and royal beard. The sculptor has carefully observed the powerful muscles of the lion as contrasted to the handsome, idealized face of the pharaoh. It was one of at least six granite sphinxes that stood in Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. Smashed into many fragments at the order of Hatshepsut's nephew and successor Thutmose III and dumped in a quarry close by, this beast was recovered by the Museum's Egyptian Expedition and reassembled. It weighs more than seven tons.
Part of a second sphinx of Hatshepsut (31.3.164) is on display in gallery 115. The sphinx has a long history in Egyptian art, the most famous example being the great sphinx at Giza which represents the Fourth Dynasty King Khafre who lived almost a thousand years before Hatshsepsut. Sphinxes representing other pharaohs may be seen throughout the Egyptian galleries.
  • Provenance

    Museum excavations 1926-1928. Acquired by the Museum in the division of finds, 1931.

Some related objects from the collection
Head and Shoulders of a Sphinx of Hatshepsut

Head and Shoulders of a Sphinx of Hatshepsut
Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium: Granite, paint
Accession Number: 31.3.167
On view in Gallery 131

Statue of Hatshepsut Kneeling

Statue of Hatshepsut Kneeling
Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium: Granite, paint
Accession Number: 31.3.162
On view in Gallery 131

Large Seated Statue of Hatshepsut

Large Seated Statue of Hatshepsut
Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium: Granite
Accession Number: 27.3.163
On view in Gallery 131

Statue of Hatshepsut Kneeling

Statue of Hatshepsut Kneeling
Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium: Granite
Accession Number: 31.3.160
On view in Gallery 131

The Female Pharaoh Hatshepsut

The Female Pharaoh Hatshepsut
Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium: Granite
Accession Number: 29.3.3
On view in Gallery 131

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