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 Senwosret III as a Sphinx
Middle Kingdom
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 manner in which the back of the head was shaped indicates that it once belonged to a large depiction of the king as a sphinx. Here, the features of Senwosret III are more subtle, the bone structure less distinct, and the mouth only slightly downturned. In some respects, the face bears a certain similarity to the graywacke head of Amenemhat III also in this gallery, suggesting that this sphinx head dates later in Senwosret III’s reign.