Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx

Roman

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 166

The ornament, originally clad in silver, served as a furniture attachment or, more likely, as part of a candelabrum or a stand for a censer or bowl. Egyptianizing decorative arts were especially popular in Rome in the years after the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 B.C. Other examples can be seen on the wall paintings from the villa at Boscotrecase, also displayed in this gallery.

Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx, bronze, Roman

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Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx, bronze, Roman
Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx, bronze, Roman
Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx, bronze, Roman
Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx, bronze, Roman
Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx, bronze, Roman
Bronze ornament in the form of a seated male sphinx, bronze, Roman

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