Storage Jar (Pithos) Fragments Depicting Sphinxes

Once part of a large storage jar (pithos), these fragments (now reconstructed) form the decorated neck of the vessel. The figural ornament, added in relief, combines mold-made heads and bodies with incised embellishments. On the preserved portion, two female-headed creatures with lion bodies and wings, known as sphinxes, appear facing one another but look frontally. Sphinxes were a particularly popular subject matter within the workshop of Afrati, an ancient site in eastern Crete. Each figure appears to wear a long headdress with horizontal bands of a type often seen in Daedalic-style sculptures in Greece, which date to the same period. Another Daedalic feature is the almond-shaped eyes of the sphinxes. Above and below the figures, stamped rosettes and bosses (small clay protrusions) frame the scene, while an additional band of a tongue pattern appears at the bottom. 

Produced between 640–610 BCE, this fragmentary relief pithos and one other in the Menil Collection (1970-056 DJ) were manufactured in Afrati. It is possible that the two pieces in the Menil Collection, as well as in other museums, come from a workshop in this area. In comparison to other known examples from Afrati, the original vase could have been over three feet tall and would have had an ovoid body with a narrow foot. Bands of relief, known as registers, would have also decorated the body of the vessel, although the other side of the neck may have remained blank. The straight edges of the piece today reflect the modern repairs.