Freud As Collector

Greek horse and rider / circa 550 BC
Corinthian alabastron / circa 600 BC
Greek sphinx / circa 400 BC
Flask with two faces / circa 250 BC
Athena / circa 100 AD
Venus / circa AD 150
Intaglio / circa 100 BC-AD 100

Greek sphinx

In the Greek legend of Thebes, the sphinx was a monster, half lion and half woman, who destroyed those who could not answer the riddle: `What is it that walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?'. Oedipus answered, correctly, that it was Man, who first crawls on all fours, then walks upright, and in old age needs a stick as a third leg. This image of the Classical sphinx is apparently modelled solid, and was originally covered in a white slip, now discoloured. The clay and style of the piece suggest a late 5th or early 4th century date and a South Italian provenance.