6cm (2.2in) x 7.5cm (3in) x 4.4cm (1.7in)
Patinated bronze. A pair of models inspired by the monstrous Greek Sphinx of mythology with a woman's head, a lion's body and eagle wings
The Greek Sphinx sat outside the city of Thebes and gave a riddle to travellers. It killed and ate anyone who failed to give the right answer. The doomed Oedipus solved the riddle, which made the monster kill herself by jumping off a high rock. — “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?" Oedipus correctly answered "Man," explaining that humans crawl as infants, walk upright as adults, and use a cane in old age. Defeated by this correct answer, the Sphinx destroyed herself and freed the city of Thebes.