Capital in the Form of a Sphinx at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

myminifactory

The sculpture is Greek, created in the Attic era ca. 530 B.C. and was said to have been from Attica. This capital and sphinx originally crowned the tall grave marker of a youth and a little girl. A plaster copy has been set on the original monument itself.  The sphinx, a mythological creature with a lion's body and a human head, was known in various forms throughout the eastern Meditteranean region from the Bronze Age onward. The Greeks represented it as a winged female and often placed its image on grave monuments as guardian of the dead. This sphinx, which retains abundant traces of red, black and blue pigment, was carved separately from the capital on which is stands. Its plinth was let into a socket at the top of the capital and secured by a metal dowel and a bed of molten lead. The capital is in the form of two double voluites (spiral scrolls) designed like a lyre. The front face of the capital also had a painted design of palmettes and volutes.    This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.