Pair of sphinxes. Flanders, XIX century.

Pair of sphinxes. Flanders, XIX century.
In carved wood and brass.
One of them has restoration on the tail.
Measurements: 66,5 x 49 x 13 cm.

Pair of Flemish sculptures from the nineteenth century. They represent two sphinxes, interpreted here with a refined sense of balance between allegorical sensuality and symbolic severity. Conceived as guardian figures, these sphinxes manifest an aesthetic fusion between the Egyptian and Greco-Roman traditions, the historicist taste of the 19th century and a clear interest in the stylization of feminine features. Both figures are conceived in a seated and symmetrical position, with the lion's body resting on its hind legs, in a vigilant attitude. The treatment of the feline anatomy is restrained, elegant, lacking muscular drama, which reinforces the majestic appearance. The face of each sphinx is that of a young woman, with harmonious features: clear forehead, straight nose and Greek profile, almond-shaped eyes with a serene gaze, and a slight smile that brings humanity without losing the mystery. These features, far from evoking a specific identity, refer to an archetypal feminine ideal, serene, timeless and ambiguous. The draped veils that envelop the heads, falling over the shoulders, merge with the tawny mane. These sculptures respond to the eclectic and symbolic taste of the nineteenth century, particularly in the Flemish environment, where academicism, the romantic reinterpretation of antiquity and a nascent taste for the exotic coexisted.