Face from a colossal sphinx

This enigmatic carved stone face probably belonged to a sphinx that formed part of a column base. Like the Assyrian human-headed winged lions and bulls, sphinxes were thought to have protective magical powers. King Sennacherib records how he made sphinxes of alabaster and copper. They were used in the inner rooms of the palace to support wooden columns inlaid with precious metals. Scanned at the I Am Ashubapinal exhibition at The British Museum, 2019 Sphinxes of alabaster, as well as sphinxes of cast copper overlaid with silver ... I erected over them columns of ebony, cypress, cedar, juniper and Indian wood, with gold and silver inlays. - King Sennacherib, ruled 705-681 BC