peterjr1961
Sphinx of King Senwosret III
Sphinx of King Senwosret III
Egypt, dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret III.
From Thebes, Karnak temple.
The crouching feline body of this sphinx, with its royal bull's tail, is remarkable for the way in which the veins of the stone underline the body forms as if the sculptor wished to negate the boundaries between inert nature and the animal world. The brooding face, on the other hand is not without allusions to the bestial. the great historian Cyril Aldred has called it the "haunting portrait of an autocrat." During the reign of Senwosret III, sculptors freed themselves from the idealism that previously dominated most representations of the pharaoh and started to explore without reservations the physical appearance of flesh and bone in a rulers face.
Sphinx of King Senwosret III
Sphinx of King Senwosret III
Egypt, dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret III.
From Thebes, Karnak temple.
The crouching feline body of this sphinx, with its royal bull's tail, is remarkable for the way in which the veins of the stone underline the body forms as if the sculptor wished to negate the boundaries between inert nature and the animal world. The brooding face, on the other hand is not without allusions to the bestial. the great historian Cyril Aldred has called it the "haunting portrait of an autocrat." During the reign of Senwosret III, sculptors freed themselves from the idealism that previously dominated most representations of the pharaoh and started to explore without reservations the physical appearance of flesh and bone in a rulers face.