South Italian Sphinx Column Capital in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2007

Limestone column capitals
Greek, South Italian, Tarentine, late 4th-3rd century BC.

Accession # 1995.95

The capitals, carved in crisp and striking detail, are a variant of the early Hellenistic Corinthian capital. The figure of a double-bodied sphinx dominates front and back, and large palmettes ornament the sides. They are typical of the architectural decoration found on Tarentine naiskoi (funerary monuments). On one, the figure of a sphinx is unusually large, leaving little of the original Corinthian acanthus-leaf design visible. All that remains of a third capital is a pair of volutes from one corner, showing the elaborate openwork that accompanied the figural decoration.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.