Northeast corner of the Harpy Tomb
- Gallery: Room 15
- Culture: Classical Greek; Achaemenid
- Made in: Lycia (historic)
- Date: 480BC-470BC
- Object type: tomb
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1848,1020.1.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is the "Northeast corner of the Harpy Tomb," a remarkable piece of Classical Greek sculpture from Lycia, crafted around 480 to 470 BC. This corner comes from a sepulchral tower once standing in the ancient city of Xanthus. The relief you see features winged figures—initially thought to be Harpies, but now identified as Sirens. These figures have the upper bodies of women, with carefully detailed hair and wings that extend gracefully across the slab.
Beneath each Siren are small female figures, held tenderly in their grasp, as if in flight. The drapery, carved with fine precision, adds to the dynamic energy of the scene. The artist used marbles with a soft finish, allowing the fluid lines and delicate features to shine through. While the east side of the original tomb has faded with time, the "Harpy Tomb" still offers striking insight into Lycian and Classical Greek artistry, blending Hellenic techniques with local traditions.
See it in person
Northeast corner of the Harpy Tomb is on display in Room 15 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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