Statue
Object Number: | E12326 |
---|---|
Current Location: |
Sphinx Gallery Currently On Display |
Provenience: | Egypt Memphis (Egypt) |
Locus: | Sacred enclosure of the temple of the god Ptah |
Period: | New Kingdom Nineteenth Dynasty |
Date Made: | 1293-1185 BCE |
Early Date: | -1293 |
Late Date: | -1185 |
Section: | Egyptian |
Materials: | Granite |
Iconography: | Sphinx |
Length: | 362 cm |
Width: | 145 cm |
Credit Line: | Gift of the British School of Archaeology, 1913 |
Description
Red granite Sphinx of Ramses II, (19th Dynasty, circa 1293-1185 BCE). It was excavated in the area of the sacred enclosure of the temple of the god Ptah at Memphis, Egypt. The sphinx, a lion with a human head, represents the power of the Egyptian king, both to protect his people and to conquer the enemies of Egypt. This statue was buried up to its shoulders; only the exposed head was attacked by windblown sand, which eroded the facial features and the royal false beard. The inscriptions on the chest and around the base give the five names of Ramses II. His son and successor, Merenptah, added his own cartouches to the shoulders after his father's death. This sphinx, the the largest in the Western hemisphere, was quarried at Aswan and transported by river to the Ptah Temple at Memphis, 600 miles away. While it has never been placed on a scale, it is estimated to weigh just under 13 tons.
Current & Past Exhibitions:
In A Rush? Take a Quick Tour of The Museum ( Sep 1996 - Jun 1997) | View Objects in Exhibition |
Lower Egyptian Gallery (1983 - 1996) | View Objects in Exhibition |
Lower Egyptian Gallery (1996 - 2018) | View Objects in Exhibition |
Sphinx Gallery (16 Nov 2019) | View Objects in Exhibition |
Bibliography:
[Book] 2020. Memphis in der Dritten Zwischenzeit. Eine Studie zur (Selbst-)Reprasentation von Eliten in der 21. und 22. Dynastie.. Hamburg. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 86, Anm, 700 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Book] Sourouzian, Hourig. 2020. Recherches sur la statuaire royale de la XIXe dynastie.. Cairo. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 481 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Book] Wegner, Jennifer H., and Wegner, Josef W. 2015. The Sphinx That Traveled To Philadelphia.. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press. pg. 239 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Book] Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2014. History of the World in 1,000 Objects.. London. Dorling Kindersley Limited. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Page 28 Bottom Row | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Article] Wegner, Jennifer H. 2014. "Sphinx Celebrating a Centennial in Phildelphia". Expedition: The Magazine of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 56. no. 2. pg. 30-36 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Catalogue] Bagh, Tine. 2011. Finds from W.M.F. Petrie's Excavations in Egypt in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.. Copenhagen. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. pg. 189 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Book] Horne, Lee C. 1985. Introduction to the Collections of The University Museum.. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Book] Moss, Rosalind L., and Porter, Bertha. 1981. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings III: Memphis, Part 2. Saqqara to Dahshur.. Oxford. Clarendon Press. ed. 2nd. Vol. III. Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Article] Ranke, Hermann. 1950. "A Guide to the Egyptian Collections". The University Museum Bulletin. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 15. no. 2-3. pg. 21-109 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 92, fig. 59 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
[Article] Jun 1915. "The Eckley B. Coxe., Jr. Egyptian Expedition". The Museum Journal. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 6. no. 2. pg. 63-84 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
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