White marble, early 1st cent. A.D.
Pompeii, House of D. Octavius Quartio
Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei, inv. 2930

The sphinx holds in its front paws a bronze dish that closes a hole for the passage of water, revealing its original function as a fountain. It forms part of the series of decorative statuettes standing along the canal, alluding to Egypt and the cult of Isis, among them the Allegory of a river.