sculpture
- Museum number
- EA58
- Description
-
Part of the limestone beard of the Sphinx at Giza.
- Dimensions
-
Length: 78.70 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
The Great Sphinx at Giza represents the 4th-Dynasty ruler Khafra with the body of a lion, guarding his pyramid. A thousand years later, the sphinx had come to be revered as a god called Horemakhet: ‘Horus in the horizon’.
Some pharaohs repaired and renewed already ancient monuments and they duly advertised their sacred work. In the 18th Dynasty, a Prince Thutmose fell asleep in the shadow of the Great Sphinx. It purportedly spoke to him in a dream, promising Egypt’s throne but pleading to be freed of accumulated sands. On taking the throne, Thutmose IV did clear and repair the sphinx. The plaited beard was likely his work.
The new beard had a curved tip, which identified the wearer as a god. The original beard from Khafra’s time would have been straight – a king’s. The new beard, too, eventually broke off, but fragments were found between the front paws in the 19th century. Other portions are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
-
PM III (1): 37
- Location
- On display (G4/B20)
- Condition
- fair (incomplete)
- Acquisition date
- 1818
- Department
- Egypt and Sudan
- BM/Big number
- EA58
- Registration number
- .58
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: BS.58 (Birch Slip Number)
