Tufa head of a Sphinx or Siren at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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This Tufa head of a sphinx or siren is Etruscan, probably Vulcian originating from 550-525 B.C. donated by the Fletcher Fund in 1924 where it is on permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This large head, made of volcanic stone, probably represents a sphinx or siren. Statues of both mythical creatures, usually depicted by the ancients with human female heads and winged animal or bird bodies, were often placed as guardians near the entrances to Etruscan tombs. The large winged lion on display in this large gallery (also uploaded on Scan The World and MyMiniFactory) is a better preserved example of the same type of stone sculpture. The style of this female head, with its almond-shaped eyes, Archaic smile, and wig-like hair arrangement is strongly reminiscent of Greek, especially Ionian examples. A number of related sculptures, all associated with ancient tombs at Vulci, are in other collections. One of the closest parallels for the Museum's head is in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.   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.