Plaque with Sphinx and Duck
Description
<p>This steatite amulet is incised with sunk relief designs on both the front and back. The carvings on the front depict a sphinx, while those on the back show a duck. The figures fill most of the image field, and empty spaces above the backs display floral elements. Hatch and crossed line patterns define the inner structures. The workmanship is slightly rough and the piece is simply made.This amulet had divine kingship connotations, and was originally mounted or threaded. It could be a rotating element of a ring with two different focuses: It should ensure magical protection as well as regeneration for its owner.The representation of a duck with head bent back is typical for the early 18th Dynasty, and double-sided decorated oval plaques for the reign of Thutmosis III (1479-1425 BC)-Amenophis III (1388-1351/1350 BC). However, this plaque belongs not to the standard types. Most of the duck representations are scaraboids, and not incised figures on a plaque, and the figure of the jumping/running hawk-headed sphinx is very unusual, as are the attached elements. The only comparison to the jumping/running posture one can find is in images of running lions.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.982' rel='external'>Plaque with Sphinx and Duck</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
Oval carved plaque in light brown/greenish steatite showing a winged/serpentine sphinx-like figure intertwined with a duck-like bird motif.
The object is a small, oval, lens-shaped steatite plaque with a raised, incised relief design. The central figure appears to be a sphinx or sphinx-like creature: a head with a broad headdress/maned element faces left, with the body rendered in a streamlined, curving form. Within the composition, a bird-like head and neck—resembling a duck—are carved on the right side, with the body extending toward the left. A wing/feather element and linear decorative bands or furrows run along the lower portion, suggesting stylized wings and/or water/feathered texture. The background is plain with a shallow recessed field around the raised carving. No clear cartouches or royal names are visible. No legible hieroglyphic text, Greek, Coptic, or Arabic lettering is apparent.
Connections
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 42.982 tier-2
- Walters-id 12193 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.