Head of a Statue of a Queen or Princess as a Sphinx | Middle Kingdom | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Head of a Statue of a Queen or Princess as a Sphinx. Judging from the remains of the animal’s body at the back, this spectacular head was part of a large female sphinx with the face of a queen or princess. Female sphinxes likely existed in the Old Kingdom but were more prevalent in the Middle Kingdom, perhaps reflecting changing ideas about queenship. Possibly found in the villa of the Roman emperor Hadrian at Tivoli, it was once in the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani (1692–1779)