19th Century, Bronze Sphinx Sculptures

Fine pair of left and right, hand-carved, gessoed and 22-karat gold gilded, angels singing in adoration while in flight. Both later mounted on custom, Lucite stands. Originally from ...

Very rare Italian terracotta sculptures of a knight, and horse, both in repousse armor decorated with dramatic plumes. Each mounted on cu...

Pair of patinated, cast bronze hounds in motion mounted on a marble base.

Beautifully hand carved, gessoed and 22-karat gold gilded, wood angel with flowing hair, extended wings and scrolling, acanthus leaf drapery.

This unusual pair of sphinxes resting upon rocky large bases are French we believe. Modeled and cast around the time of Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and showing some...

A rare pair of hollow-cast bronze sphinxes, almost certainly removed from an Art Deco building interior or facade, executed with exceptional sculptural ambition and archaeological specificity. Each figure is modeled as a recumbent sphinx with a human head wearing the traditional nemes headdress with uraeus — the royal cobra at the brow — and a broad decorative pectoral collar incised with geometric and hieroglyph-inspired ornament. The lion body is carefully articulated with musculature and surface detailing consistent with high-quality foundry work of the interwar period. Most remarkably, each sphinx extends its human forearms forward to cradle a spherical vessel — originally a lamp socket, gas jet, or candle cup — in outstretched hands, transforming the figures from purely decorative objects into functional architectural light fixtures of considerable drama. Each rests on an integral flat plinth base. The hollow construction confirms these as purpose-built architectural elements rather than studio bronzes: the technique was standard practice for large-scale building ornament in the 1920s and 1930s, allowing monumental scale without prohibitive weight or cost. The rich dark brown patina with traces of verde antique in the recesses is consistent with decades of interior installation and speaks to the quality of the bronze alloy. The iconographic program — sphinxes as light-bearers — draws directly on the wave of Egyptomania that swept Western architecture and decorative arts following Howard Carter's excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, a cultural moment that fused the ancient imagery of sacred guardianship with the bold geometry and ornamental ambition of the emerging Art Deco style. Sphinxes appeared throughout this period as threshold guardians...

French Empire style (19th Cent) bronze reclining sphinx figure mounted on a rectangular black marble base

PAIR of French Empire-style (19/20th Century) bronze sphinx andirons on rectangular base (PRICED AS PAIR)