With a camel caravan drifting ghost-like through the haze of the background and date palms standing sentinel beyond, this hauntingly beautiful real-photo postcard captures the great Alabaster Sphinx of Memphis — one of Egypt's most enigmatic ancient treasures — resting in the waterlogged depression that has been its home for millennia. Photographed by the celebrated Cairo studio of Lehnert & Landrock, the image exploits the dramatic contrast between the sphinx's weathered limestone surface and the still reflective water pooling at its base, while the sharp foreground detail of the headdress and royal beard show the mastery of light that made Rudolf Lehnert and Ernst Landrock the premier postcard photographers of early twentieth-century Egypt and North Africa. The Alabaster Sphinx, weighing approximately 80 tonnes and dating to the New Kingdom period, was discovered near the Temple of Ptah at Mit Rahina and remains one of the largest surviving sphinx sculptures in Egypt. This card was never mailed, preserving its silver gelatin surface in pristine condition.