While the Sphinx of Taharqo is significantly smaller (73 centimeters long) than the Great Sphinx of Giza (73 meters long), it is notable for its prominent Egyptian and Kushite elements. The lion portrayed in the sphinx is done in classic Egyptian style, while the face of the Sphinx is clearly that of Taharqo. The hieroglyphs on the statue explain that it is a portrait of the great King Taharqo, the fourth pharaoh to rule over the combined kingdoms of Kush and Ancient Egypt during the Third Intermediate Period. The sphinx is made of sandy grey granite.[2]
Taharqo was the last Nubian king who ruled over Egypt. He was defeated by the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Aššurbanipal.[3] His reign lasted from 690 when he succeeded Shebitqo (or Shabaka) to his death in 664 BCE. He was the son of Piye and Abar and the father to his daughter, Amenirdis II.[3] Taharqo was one of the rulers of Kush who dominated Egypt as the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.[4] He was a significantly important ruler, initiating a golden age for his new kingdom. Although Taharqo was not of Egyptian descent, he worshipped the Egyptian god Amun, built pyramids and temples in the Egyptian model, and had his officials write in Egyptian hieroglyphics.[2]
The statue is a sphinx, representing here the immense power of the Egyptian and Kushite pharaoh Taharqo, whose face is shown. The headdress bears two uraei, the Nubian symbol of kingship, and Taharqo's name appears in a cartouche on the sphinx's chest. The statue is called "a masterpiece of Kushite art."[5]
The statue was excavated at Temple T, in the area east of the south-eastern part of the Temple of Amun at Kawa (now Gematon), in Nubia (now Sudan), during excavations there by the Archaeological Mission of the University of Oxford during the 1930s. Construction of the stone temple was started in 683 BC by Taharqo.
sphinx, taharqo, granite, gneiss, statue, sphinx, with, face, taharqo, nubian, king, 25th, egyptian, dynasty, about, rulers, kingdom, kush, british, museum, london, front, viewmaterialgranite, gneisscreated680bc, circa, discoverednorthern, dongola, reachpresen. The Sphinx of Taharqo is a granite gneiss statue of a sphinx with the face of Taharqo He was a Nubian king who was one of the 25th Egyptian Dynasty about 747 656 BC rulers of the Kingdom of Kush It is now in the British Museum in London 1 Sphinx of Taharqofront viewMaterialgranite gneissCreated680BC circa DiscoveredNorthern Dongola ReachPresent locationG65 10 British Museum LondonIdentificationEA 1770Reg number 1932 0611 1 While the Sphinx of Taharqo is significantly smaller 73 centimeters long than the Great Sphinx of Giza 73 meters long it is notable for its prominent Egyptian and Kushite elements The lion portrayed in the sphinx is done in classic Egyptian style while the face of the Sphinx is clearly that of Taharqo The hieroglyphs on the statue explain that it is a portrait of the great King Taharqo the fourth pharaoh to rule over the combined kingdoms of Kush and Ancient Egypt during the Third Intermediate Period The sphinx is made of sandy grey granite 2 Contents 1 Taharqo 2 The statue 3 See also 4 Reading 5 References 6 External linksTaharqo editTaharqo was the last Nubian king who ruled over Egypt He was defeated by the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal 3 His reign lasted from 690 when he succeeded Shebitqo or Shabaka to his death in 664 BCE He was the son of Piye and Abar and the father to his daughter Amenirdis II 3 Taharqo was one of the rulers of Kush who dominated Egypt as the Twenty fifth Dynasty 4 He was a significantly important ruler initiating a golden age for his new kingdom Although Taharqo was not of Egyptian descent he worshipped the Egyptian god Amun built pyramids and temples in the Egyptian model and had his officials write in Egyptian hieroglyphics 2 The statue edit nbsp Pharaoh Taharqa of the Twenty fifth Dynasty of Egypt depicted as a sphinx now exhibited at the British Museum Taharqa was a recurring enemy of Esarhaddon defeating his planned invasion of Egypt in 673 BC and in turn being defeated by Esarhaddon in 671 BC The statue is a sphinx representing here the immense power of the Egyptian and Kushite pharaoh Taharqo whose face is shown The headdress bears two uraei the Nubian symbol of kingship and Taharqo s name appears in a cartouche on the sphinx s chest The statue is called a masterpiece of Kushite art 5 The statue was excavated at Temple T in the area east of the south eastern part of the Temple of Amun at Kawa now Gematon in Nubia now Sudan during excavations there by the Archaeological Mission of the University of Oxford during the 1930s Construction of the stone temple was started in 683 BC by Taharqo The statue is a British Museum Highlight object 1 and was selected as the twenty second object in the series A History of the World in 100 Objects selected by British Museum director Neil MacGregor and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010 5 See also editStatues of Amun in the form of a ram protecting King Taharqa Sphinx of MemphisReading editCaygill M The British Museum A Z Companion London The British Museum Press 1999 Hochfield S and Riefstahl E eds Africa in Antiquity Brooklyn N Y Brooklyn Museum 1978 pp 50 51 168 James T G H and Davies W V Egyptian sculpture London The British Museum Press 1983 Laming Macadam M F The Temples of Kawa Oxford 1949 vol I 1955 vol II Mysliwiec Karol Royal Portraiture of the Dynasties XXI XXX 1988 pp 33 40 Nicholson and Shaw Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology Cambridge 2000 p 34 Phillips T ed Africa London 1995 p 49 fig 5 Strudwick N Masterpieces of Ancient Egypt London 2006 pp 262 3 Taylor J H Egypt and Nubia London The British Museum Press 1991 Welsby D A The Kingdom of Kush The Napatan and Meroitic Empires London The British Museum Press 1996References edit a b Sphinx of Taharqo British Museum Archived from the original on 2011 12 03 Retrieved 2011 12 16 a b BBC A History of the World About Transcripts Episode 22 Sphinx of Taharqo Retrieved 2015 09 28 a b Taharqo Livius www livius org Retrieved 2015 09 28 Sphinx of Taharqo British Museum Archived from the original on 2011 12 03 Retrieved 2015 09 28 a b A History of the World Object Sphinx of Taharqo BBC 2011 06 11 Retrieved 2011 12 16 External links editBritish Museum page on the statue More detailed British Museum page BBC Radio 4 s A History of the World in 100 Objects page on Taharqo s Sphinx This article is about an item held in the British Museum The object reference is EA 1770 Reg No 1932 0611 1 Preceded by21 Lachish reliefs A History of the World in 100 ObjectsObject 22 Succeeded by23 Kang Hou Gui Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sphinx of Taharqo amp oldid 1213630047, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
