Sphinx with male head

Much like its companion piece, which has a female head attached, this sphinx originates from the Ducal Palace of Sabbioneta. It is sculpted from Greek marble and comes from a Greek prototype from the 5th century B.C. The particular type of these two mythological figures, to be viewed as a pair, refers to the tradition that depicted sphinxes as winged monsters with the head of a human and body of a lion in a seated position. Both were most probably used in funeral proceedings. Indeed, in the Greek and Roman worlds, sphinxes were common as dotage for sarcophagi and tombs. It was only from the age of Augustus onwards that they were used as mere decorative motifs.