Dublin Core
Title
Sphinx (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Description
Commissioned and conceptualised by Dr. Jacob Bigelow, the architect of Mount Auburn Cemetery in which it is placed, the Sphinx was made by Martin Milmore in collaboration with his brother, Joseph. Made of Hallowell granite and 15 feet in length, the Sphinx, as in Egyptian mythology, appears as a reclining lion with woman's head, but is here presented with the additional features of a U.S. military medallion and a bald eagle on the headdress, thus representing the future of shared African and American culture envisaged by Bigelow. It commemorates all those who fell in the Civil War, and is noticeable for the unusually emancipatory tone of its inscription, which reads: "American Union Preserved; African Slavery Destroyed; By the Uprising of a Great People; By the Blood of Fallen Heroes'. While no official dedication is recorded, the monument had been placed within the cemetery by September 1871; its enigmatic nature is captured in Charlotte Fiske Bates's 1879 poem 'The Sphinx at Mount Auburn'.
Creator
Martin & Joseph Milmore
Source
american
Contributor
Josh Haslett
Language
English
Type
Site
Identifier
42
Date Created
1865-03-01
Extent
180" x " x 96"
Spatial Coverage
current,42.373194,-71.145441;
Rights Holder
Dr. Jacob Bigelow/Martin Milmore
Europeana
Country
USA
Europeana Data Provider
Sphinx
Object
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26062021
Europeana Type
TEXT
Site Item Type Metadata
Wiki
https://www.cineg.org/wiki/index.php/Sphinx
Monument Type
Stone - carved
Funded by
Dr. Jacob Bigelow ($11,554)
Material
Hallowell granite
State
Massachusetts
Affiliation
Emancipation
City
Cambridge