Portrait of Sphinx: Etching 4 of 6, Shôwa period, dated 1970

The fourth print in Ikeda's six-part Portrait of Sphinx series, dated 1970, continues his sustained engagement with the Egyptian sphinx as a symbol of enigmatic femininity and ancient mystery. Within this sequential series, each composition isolates the sphinx figure against a spare ground, likely using fine linear work and tonal gradation to suggest the worn stone surface of the mythological creature. Ikeda's interest in the sphinx during this period reflected broader Shōwa-era preoccupations with Western mythological iconography refracted through a Japanese postwar sensibility. As the fourth in a numbered progression, this print would carry variations in pose, shadow, or angle that distinguish it from its counterparts while sustaining the series' overarching visual and conceptual grammar.