A sphinx is a mythological creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human, used as a decorative motif in architecture, furniture, metalwork and garden ornament. The Egyptian sphinx is usually male and recumbent, as in the Great Sphinx at Giza, while the Greek version is typically female and often winged.
The sphinx reappeared in European ornament during the Renaissance, and it became a favourite device of eighteenth-century Neo-classical designers, including Robert Adam, who used elegant winged sphinxes on chimneypieces, friezes and furniture. Napoleon's Egyptian campaign of 1798 to 1801 inspired a wave of Egyptian Revival taste, and sphinxes were used as gilt-bronze mounts, chair arms, table supports and clock ornaments in French Empire and English Regency interiors. Pairs of stone, lead or cast-iron sphinxes were also placed to guard steps, gateways and terraces in country-house gardens. The motif returned once more in the Victorian period and again in the 1920s after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Collectors should note the quality of the modelling, the casting or carving, and whether a garden pair has remained together.
