The Forum

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An Egyptian Pharaoh in Spain?

One photograph in “Warriors, Wolves & Women: The Art of the Iberians,” AO 06:03, by Ricardo Olmos, especially intrigued me: the image of a seventh-century B.C. sphinx. The sphinx appears to be wearing the double crown of ancient Egyptian pharaohs. Nothing was mentioned in the text about this astonishing detail, so I’d like to know if, indeed, it is the double crown.

According to Ricardo Olmos, the bronze sphinx is indeed wearing the double crown of ancient Egypt. During the orientalizing period (c. 700–550 B.C.), the art of Iberia was heavily influenced by Near Eastern iconography. Phoenician traders in search of precious metals brought with them objects from Egypt and elsewhere, creating a new international artistic style on the peninsula.—Ed.

Apologies to the Bull!

The cover caption for Bicha de Balazote (May/June 2003) is not quite right. The Bicha has a human’s head and a bull’s body rather than a bull’s head and a human’s body. We don’t want to insult the bull.