Etrusca Sphinx : nota preliminare su una statua in nenfro da una collezione privata

Sphinxes are one of the main subject represented in the Etruscan stone sculpture. In the last years, the number of statues increased (some appeared in the antique market, others were discovered in recent excavations or recovered from the illegal trade by the Italian authorities). This paper presents a preliminary study of a new tufa sphinx, auctioned in 2009 and now in a private collection. Beyond the iconographical and stylistic analysis, this statue is interesting for its small size. This particularity offers the possibility to speculate about its original arrangement on a funerary monument.