Archives & Special Collections Gallery Exhibit
Preview
Creation Date
Fall 2014
Description
Artifact Label:
The Sphinx (Early 20th Century)
Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection
“If the Sperm Whale be physiognomically a Sphinx, to the phrenologist his brain seems that geometrical circle which it is impossible to square.”
Moby-Dick, Chapter 80, “The Nut”
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a mysterious monolith that to this day remains a riddle. What was its purpose? When was its creation? And what exactly does it depict? Archaeologists and Egyptologist cannot come to consensus. Referencing the sphinx as well as hieroglyphics in Moby-Dick not only speaks to the theme of indecipherable texts but also to texts of ancient and even unknown origin. Egyptologists cannot come to consensus. References to the sphinx as well as hieroglyphics in Moby-Dick not only speak to the theme of indecipherable texts but also to texts of ancient and even unknown origin.
