Senwosret III as a Sphinx
Title
Senwosret III as a Sphinx
Date
12th Dynasty (Middle Kingdom), ca. 1878-1840 B.C.
Artist or Workshop
Unknown
Materials
Gneiss
Height of the work
42.5 cm tall
Provenience
From Egypt; Likely from Upper Egypt
Current Location
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Sitter Biography
Senwosret III (also known as Senusret III, Sesostris III) was the 5th king of the 12th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. He was the son of the 12th Dynasty king Senusret II and the queen Kenemetneferhedjet I and was raised at the court of Thebes. Many consider Senwosret III to be the most powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty due to the many cultural, economic, and military accomplishments that occurred during his reign. He is among the few Egyptian kings who were deified and honored with a cult during their own lifetime.
Description and Significance
Description:
The portrait of “Senwosret III as a Sphinx” depicts the 12th Dynasty ruler with the body of a lion and the head of a human. He wears the royal nemes headdress, carefully incised with thin lines to create a pleated effect, and a false beard, both symbols of Egyptian kingship. The uraeus serpent sits atop the headdress; a hole remains where the cobra's upright head would have been placed. The face of this under life-size statue is portrayed with distinctive features such as deep-set, heavy-lidded eyes, frown lines around the brow area, sunken cheeks, and thin lips. These features promote an expression of sorrow and disdain, visible in many royal portraits of the Middle Kingdom. The size of the headdress in comparison to the rest of the statue helps to conceal the awkwardness of the transition between the human head and the lion’s body. This transition is further aided by the natural pattern and dark color of the stone. The sphinx was carved from a single block of gneiss, with the pattern of the stone accentuating the powerful and youthful form of the lion’s body which sits in a crouching position. The sculptor also skillfully utilized this pattern to illustrate the lion’s mane which drapes, in both ordered strands and overlapping tufts, over the shoulders of the portrait all the way down towards its feet. The lion's tail is draped, looping around one of the hind legs of the lion. Below the beard, vertically oriented inscriptions of the king’s names appear. Below the inscriptions, there appears to be damage to the base of the statue where the front paws of the sphinx would have rested. The nose of the statue is damaged as well.
Significance:
This portrait portrays the king Senwosret III as a sphinx, specifically a crouching sphinx. This representation is symbolic as it combines the power of the lion with the image of the reigning pharaoh. The crouching sphinx is often understood as a guardian of sacred spaces. Many believe that this sphinx was part of a pair, used to flank the entrance of an important building such as a temple. The mood conveyed by the king’s facial features is brooding. The sunken eyes and cheeks, the furrowed brow, and the thin lips portray a new ideal of Egyptian kingship. This is a common tactic in royal portraiture of the Middle Kingdom; the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt faced a number of political trials following the collapse of the Old Kingdom and decentralization of Egypt. Portrayals of experience and the wisdom gained from leadership during those times replaced images of idealized kingship of the Old Kingdom. However, the strength and youthfulness of the lion’s body indicates traditional ideas expressed in royal Egyptian portraiture.
The portrait of “Senwosret III as a Sphinx” depicts the 12th Dynasty ruler with the body of a lion and the head of a human. He wears the royal nemes headdress, carefully incised with thin lines to create a pleated effect, and a false beard, both symbols of Egyptian kingship. The uraeus serpent sits atop the headdress; a hole remains where the cobra's upright head would have been placed. The face of this under life-size statue is portrayed with distinctive features such as deep-set, heavy-lidded eyes, frown lines around the brow area, sunken cheeks, and thin lips. These features promote an expression of sorrow and disdain, visible in many royal portraits of the Middle Kingdom. The size of the headdress in comparison to the rest of the statue helps to conceal the awkwardness of the transition between the human head and the lion’s body. This transition is further aided by the natural pattern and dark color of the stone. The sphinx was carved from a single block of gneiss, with the pattern of the stone accentuating the powerful and youthful form of the lion’s body which sits in a crouching position. The sculptor also skillfully utilized this pattern to illustrate the lion’s mane which drapes, in both ordered strands and overlapping tufts, over the shoulders of the portrait all the way down towards its feet. The lion's tail is draped, looping around one of the hind legs of the lion. Below the beard, vertically oriented inscriptions of the king’s names appear. Below the inscriptions, there appears to be damage to the base of the statue where the front paws of the sphinx would have rested. The nose of the statue is damaged as well.
Significance:
This portrait portrays the king Senwosret III as a sphinx, specifically a crouching sphinx. This representation is symbolic as it combines the power of the lion with the image of the reigning pharaoh. The crouching sphinx is often understood as a guardian of sacred spaces. Many believe that this sphinx was part of a pair, used to flank the entrance of an important building such as a temple. The mood conveyed by the king’s facial features is brooding. The sunken eyes and cheeks, the furrowed brow, and the thin lips portray a new ideal of Egyptian kingship. This is a common tactic in royal portraiture of the Middle Kingdom; the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt faced a number of political trials following the collapse of the Old Kingdom and decentralization of Egypt. Portrayals of experience and the wisdom gained from leadership during those times replaced images of idealized kingship of the Old Kingdom. However, the strength and youthfulness of the lion’s body indicates traditional ideas expressed in royal Egyptian portraiture.
References
Breckenridge, J. D. 1968, Likeness: A Conceptual History of Ancient Portraiture, Evanston, pp. 45-50.
“Egyptian Art.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 41, no. 3, 1983, pp. 1–56.
Habachi, Labib. “The Gneiss Sphinx of Sesostris III: Counterpart and Provenance.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, 1984, pp. 11–16.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544186
https://www.ancient.eu/Senusret_III/
“Egyptian Art.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 41, no. 3, 1983, pp. 1–56.
Habachi, Labib. “The Gneiss Sphinx of Sesostris III: Counterpart and Provenance.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, 1984, pp. 11–16.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544186
https://www.ancient.eu/Senusret_III/
Contributor
Lauren Kershenbaum
Citation
Unknown, “Senwosret III as a Sphinx,” Digital Portrait "Basket" - ARTH488A - "Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture", accessed May 20, 2024, https://classicalchopped2.artinterp.org/omeka/items/show/12.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.