DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5066#0066
Dm iv. ANTIQUITY OF THE SPHINX 37
a material seldom chosen for the execution of a monu-
ment.
In saying that the discovery of the statues of Khaf-Ra
has proved an unparalleled addition to the history of
the old empire, and that they must be esteemed the
greatest treasure of antiquity, we have not yet nearly
exhausted the advantages to be derived from Khaf-Ra's
stone image. As that wooden statue of an old Sheikh-
el-Belled,1 which was brought to light out of the tombs
at Saqqarah, as the various coloured statues of lime-
stone which came forth from the narrow ' Serdabs'2 of
the tombs as witnesses of ancient life, as every artistic
production of those days, in picture, writing, or sculp-
ture, bears the stamp of the highest perfection of art,
so the statue of Khaf-Ra also teaches us that in the
beginning of history the works of art already redounded
to the praise of their authors.
From east to west, almost in the same line with
Khaf-Ra's pyramid, lies the colossal Sphinx—the body
of a lion united with the face of a man. As if at rest,
the lion stretches out his fore paws, between which a
narrow path led to the temple which stood at the
breast of the monster, while a memorial stone pre-
serves the memory of the gifts made by Tehuti-mes IV.
to the god. The lion was of the living rock ; but where
the hollows in the stone interrupted the rounding of the
body, light masonry was introduced to fill in what was
wanting in the form.
So far as we learn from an inscription, King Khufu
had seen the monster; therefore the statue existed
before his time. To the north lay a temple of Isis ; a
second, dedicated to Osiris, was situated on the southern
side; and a third was consecrated to the Sphinx. In
1 See Frontispiece.
2 Serdab is the Arabic word for chapels where the statues of tho
the secret chamber in the sepulchral deceased were placed.
a material seldom chosen for the execution of a monu-
ment.
In saying that the discovery of the statues of Khaf-Ra
has proved an unparalleled addition to the history of
the old empire, and that they must be esteemed the
greatest treasure of antiquity, we have not yet nearly
exhausted the advantages to be derived from Khaf-Ra's
stone image. As that wooden statue of an old Sheikh-
el-Belled,1 which was brought to light out of the tombs
at Saqqarah, as the various coloured statues of lime-
stone which came forth from the narrow ' Serdabs'2 of
the tombs as witnesses of ancient life, as every artistic
production of those days, in picture, writing, or sculp-
ture, bears the stamp of the highest perfection of art,
so the statue of Khaf-Ra also teaches us that in the
beginning of history the works of art already redounded
to the praise of their authors.
From east to west, almost in the same line with
Khaf-Ra's pyramid, lies the colossal Sphinx—the body
of a lion united with the face of a man. As if at rest,
the lion stretches out his fore paws, between which a
narrow path led to the temple which stood at the
breast of the monster, while a memorial stone pre-
serves the memory of the gifts made by Tehuti-mes IV.
to the god. The lion was of the living rock ; but where
the hollows in the stone interrupted the rounding of the
body, light masonry was introduced to fill in what was
wanting in the form.
So far as we learn from an inscription, King Khufu
had seen the monster; therefore the statue existed
before his time. To the north lay a temple of Isis ; a
second, dedicated to Osiris, was situated on the southern
side; and a third was consecrated to the Sphinx. In
1 See Frontispiece.
2 Serdab is the Arabic word for chapels where the statues of tho
the secret chamber in the sepulchral deceased were placed.