6th-5th century BC. A ring bezel representing a sphinx seated left with one paw raised, the wings resting on the back. See Boardman J. and Vollenweider M.L., Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Finger Rings I, Greek and Etruscans, Oxford, 1978, n.64, for type.5 grams, 24mm (1"). From a Dutch private collection; formerly in a European collection, acquired before 1980. The position of the sphinx and the outline cut features relate this piece to the Sphinx-and-Youth Group II, of the second half of the 6th century BC, but the detailed wings are indicative of a later production, probably to collocate in full classical period. The sphinx was not a mythological monster related only to Egypt, but also to Greek mythology. A sphinx had the head of a human and the body of a lion. Considering that sphinxes are usually associated to Egyptian mythology; the two cultures had tight links and had considerably influenced each other, since the Late Bronze Age. [No Reserve]