The Libyan Sibyl

William Wetmore Story

1860; carved 1861 · Marble · The American Wing

"The Libyan Sibyl," which Story described as “my anti-slavery sermon in stone,” was inspired by events leading up to the Civil War. Oracle in hand, the Libyan Sibyl, eldest of the legendary prophetesses of antiquity, foresees the terrible fate of the African people. This premonition is suggested by the heroic figure’s state of brooding cogitation. Her costume includes an ammonite-shell (so named for the Egyptian god Amun) headdress, its crest decorated with the tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew consonants that denote the Supreme Being. The seal of Solomon, with its interlocking triangles indicating the interrelationship of the natural and spiritual worlds, hangs from her beaded necklace.

Artist

William Wetmore Story

Date

1860; carved 1861

Medium

Marble

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Erving Wolf Foundation, in memory of Diane R. Wolf, 1979