An Early Greek Bronze Sphinx Support

Abstract

place in the curatorial ranks of The Metropolitan Museum of Art by virtue of her expertise and the gracious generosity with which she has imparted it. Her specialization in European porcelains and metalwork inspires me to publish an extraordinary recent acquisition' that features two of the most longlived Greek contributions to Western iconography, the sphinx and the foot in the form of a lion's paw. The adornment and animation of utilitarian objects by means of figural motifs are hallmarks of Greek art. The object of our attention is a bronze support datable to about 600 B.C. and consisting of a lion's paw that develops into the forepart of a sphinx. While a sphinx, by definition, has the body of a lion, the head of a woman, and the wings of an eagle, the pawshaped foot is considerably more common than the sphinx as an adjunct in related bronze utensils (Figures 1-3). The paw shows five toes that are separated and articulated but nonetheless maintain a rather